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Weidner,  Revere  Franklin, 

1851-1915. 
An  introduction  to  dogmatic 

theol< 


SYSTEM 


OF 


DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY 

BASED  ON  LUTHARDT  AND  KRAUTH. 


BY 


REVERE  FRANKLIN  WEIDNER. 


Doctor  of  Sacred  Theolog^y,  and  Professor  of  Exegesis  and  Dogmatics  in  the  Theological 

Setninary  of  the  Swedish  Evangelical  Lutheran  Augustana  Synod,  at  Roch 

Island,  III  ;  Author  of  " Commentary  on  Mark" ,  "Theological 

Encyclopaedia" ,  "Biblical   Theology  of  (Hf  Qld 

Testament" ,  etc 


I.    PROLEGOMENA. 


ROCK  ISLAND,  ILL.: 

AUGUSTANA     BOOK    CONCERN 

1888. 


AN 

INTRODUCTION 

TO 

DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY, 


BASED  ON  LUTHARDT. 


BY 


/ 

REVERE  FRANKLIN  WEIDNER,  S.  T.  D. 


rtofessor  of  Theology  in  Augnstana  Theological  Seminary,  Rock  Island,  III.;  Member  0/ 

the  Society  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Exegesis;  Member  of  the  American 

Oriental  Society,  etc. 


ROOK  ISLAND,  ILL.: 

AUGUSTANA  BOOK  CONCERN. 

1888. 


COPYRIGHT     1888. 

BY 

REVERE  FRANKLIN  WEIDNER. 


DEDICATED 

TO   THE   MEMORY  OF 

CHARLES  PORTERFIELD  KRAUTH, 
HIS  TEACHER  AND  FRIEND, 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


EkRAfA. 


Page  101 ,  second  line  iiom  bottom,  tor  1673  read  i57.*{. 
"     184,  eighth    "       "        "      ,  VQ-dd  eclectic. 
"     137,  line  6,  for  strict  read  stricter. 
"     139,    "  18,  for  380  read  370. 
"     163,  last  line,  for  member,  read  number. 
"     195 ,  line  10 ,  read  Dannhauer, 
"     224,    "      7,    "     Bollngbroke. 
The  few  other  errors  are  of  such  a  character  that  they  can  easily  be  corrected. 


PREFACE. 

Revealed  Theology  naturally  divides  itself  into  four 
main  departments,  exegetical,  historical,  systematic, 
and  practical.  Under  Exegetical  Theology  we  com- 
prise all  the  sciences  that  relate  to  the  exposition  and 
elucidation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures;  Historical  Theol- 
ogy begins  with  Sacred  History  and  includes  what  has 
been  developed  in  the  Church  in  the  shape  of  Church 
History  and  the  History  of  Doctrine ;  Practical  Theol- 
ogy embraces  the  theory  of  the  activities  of  the  Church, 
as  exercised  by  the  pastor  and  teacher  in  particular; 
but  in  Systematic  Theology  we  have  the  highest  form 
of  theological  science.  It  is  the  scientific  and  connected 
presentation  of  Christian  doctrine,  in  its  relation  to 
both  faith  and  morals,  and  comprises  the  sciences  of 
Apologetics,  Dogmatics,  and  Ethics. 

Our  later  theologians  distinguish  between  Biblical 
Theology  and  Dogmatics.  Biblical  Theology  has  for 
its  aim  to  represent  the  religious  ideas  and  doctrines 
which  are  contained  in  the  Bible,  and  is  a  purely  his- 
torical discipline,  and  as  such  belongs  to  the  depart- 
ment of  Historical  Theology.  Christian  Dogmatics  or 
Dogmatic  Theology,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  historico- 
philosophical  science,  in  which  the  results  of  historical 
exegesis  are  unified  and  systematized.  It  uses  the  re- 
sults of  Biblical  Theology  as  the  material  with  which 


6 

it  builds.  It  is  the  sum  of  the  truths  embraced  in  the 
Christian  faith  in  their  organic  connection  with  the 
facts  of  religious  truth.  It  is  the  science  of  that,  of 
which  the  Christian  affections  and  the  Christian  life 
are  the  great  art.  It  has  no  other  aim  than  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Christian  religion,  as  this  is  established  in  the 
experimental  consciousness  of  the  believer,  to  reproduce 
it  spiritually  and  to  bring  it  into  a  scientific,  system- 
atic form,  for  the  delineation  and  development  in  every 
direction  of  its  divinely  wrought  facts  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Of  late.  Dogmatic  Theology  has  been  somewhat  neg- 
lected in  certain  parts  of  the  Protestant  world,  and 
indeed  has  fallen  into  disrepute,  more  stress  being  laid 
upon  the  results  of  Biblical  Theology.  We  are  told 
that  in  Dogmatic  Theology  we  have  the  deductions 
and  speculations  of  men  while  in  Biblical  Theology  we 
have  the  pure  teaching  of  the  Word  of  God.  But  let  us 
not  forget  that  the  man  who  takes  up  the  Bible  now 
without  reference  to  what  has  been  done  toward  its 
elucidation  in  the  past,  and  without  being  guided  by 
the  development  of  doctrine  is  unwise  and  will  fall  into 
error,  for  the  faith  and  doctrinal  thinking  of  the  present 
is  conditioned  by  the  intellectual  labors  and  the  devel- 
opment of  Church  doctrine  in  the  past,  and  must  con- 
sequently assure  itself  of  its  essential  harmony  with  it. 

This  work  does  not  present  a  System  of  Christian 
Theology,  but  is  simply  an  Introduction  to  such  a  Sys- 
tem. It  is  the  door  and  the  vestibule  which  leads  to 
the  sacred  edifice.    It  only  treats  of  the  definition,  con- 


7 
tents,  method,  and  history,  of  Dogmatics.  The  attempt 
has  been  made  to  give  a  concise  and  yet  complete  his- 
tory of  Dogmatics,  including  even  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
most  prominent  recent  writers  in  this  department.  The 
book  itself  is  the  outgrowth  of  work  in  the  class-room, 
and  has  been  prepared  to  meet  the  wants  of  my  stu- 
dents, and  is  published  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  of 
some  service  not  only  to  other  theological  students, 
and  to  the  English-speaking  ministers,  of  the  Evangel- 
ical Lutheran  Church,  but  may  be  of  interest  even  to 
those  who  are  not  of  the  same  Confession  of  Faith. 

He  who  watches  the  horizon  of  German  Lutheran 
Theology,  will  always  discover  some  new  star  of  great 
brilliancy,  just  coming  into  range  above  it.  One  of  the 
latest  of  distinguished  living  conservative  theologians 
is  Christoph  Ernst  Luthardt,  since  1856  professor 
of  theology  at  Leipsic,  and  renowed  as  a  university 
lecturer  and  pulpit  orator.  His  Compendium  der  Dog- 
matik  appeared  in  1865,  and  in  1886  had  already 
reached  the  seventh  edition.  This  work  is  not  strictly 
speaking  the  development  of  a  system,  but  rather  a 
compendious  presentation  of  carefully  selected  mate- 
rial. It  is  by  far  the  best  manual  of  the  Dogmatics  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  we  possess.  On  ac- 
count of  its  comprehensiveness,  brevity,  and  succint- 
ness,  my  own  teacher,  Charles  Porterfield  Krauth, 
late  Professor  of  Dogmatic  Theology  in  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Theological  Seminary  in  Philadelphia,  took 
it  as  a  general  guide  in  a  large  part  of  his  own  lectures, 
and  especially  recommended  it  to  his  students.    This 


8 

work  has  been  the  basis  of  my  own  lectures  during  the 
last  six  years,  my  students  using  a  Swedish  translation 
of  the  fifth  German  edition.  In  this  Introduction  we 
closely  follow  the  outline  of  Luthardt,  but  though  we 
follow  his  outline  and  plan,  it  is  not  a  translation, 
nor  a  condensation,  nor  simply  an  adaptation,  but 
we  have  made  an  attempt  to  rewrite  the  work  for  the 
special  wants  of  the  Church  in  this  country. 

The  writer  would  also  record  his  great  indebtedness 
to  the  Manuscript  Lectures  of  Dr.  Krauth,  which  have 
been  freely  used,  and  from  which  he  has  derived  con- 
stant stimulus  and  suggestion.  He  would  also  express 
his  great  obligations  to  his  venerable  colleague,  Dr. 
Hasselquist,  whose  rich  scholarship  was  constantly 
at  his  command,  and,  who  with  a  kindness  which  the 
writer  cannot  adequately  acknowledge,  has  done  him 
the  great  favor  of  reading  the  whole  book  aloud  in  his 
presence,  during  its  passage  through  the  press. 

R.  F,  W. 

AUGUSTANA  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY, 

Easter  Monday,  April  2,  1888, 
Rock  Island,  III. 


CONTENTS. 


Sec. 
1. 

2. 


6. 


7. 


8. 


Page. 

The  Object  of  the  Introduction,     .        .        .        .13 

I.    The  Definition  of  Dogmatics. 
The  Definition  of  Theology,        .        .        .        .        17 

1.  Usage  of  the  word  Theology,  ...       17 

2.  Divisions  of  Theology,    .       .         .         .         .         .  17 

3.  Definition  of  Revealed  Theology,  .         .  .         .19 

4.  Means  of  Theological  Study,  .  .  .  .  19 

5.  Aim  of  Theology,        ,        .        .  .         .  .         .20 

The  Claims  of  Theology      ,        ....        20 

1.  It  is  a  Biblical  Science,       ......      21 

2.  Its  necessity, 21 

3.  Its  possibility,    ....  .         .         .         .23 

4.  In  harmony  with  a  genuine  Philosophy,     ...  25 
The  Organism  of  Theology, 26 

1.  The  Departments  of  Theology ^        ....  27 

2.  The  Relation  of  Dogmatics  and  Ethics,         .  .  .28 
The  Definition  of  Dogmatics,      .      .         .         .29 

1.  Definition  of  Dogma,  ...  .  .  .29 

2.  The  Name  of  this  Science,     ....  .  30 

3.  Definition  of  Dogmatics,    ......      30 

II.    The  Contents  of  Dogmatics. 
The  Definition  of  Religion,  .        .        .        .         32 

1.  The  Word  Religion, 32 

2.  Definition  of  Religion,    . 32 

The  Essential  Character  and  Truth  of  Religion,    34 

1.  Religion  in  its  subjective  sense,    .... 

2.  Religion  in  its  objective  sense,         .... 

3.  The  Origin  of  Religion, 

4.  The  Truth  of  Religion, 

The  Divisions  of  Religion,       .... 

1.     True  and  False, •        . 


34 
37 
37 
38 
39 
39 


2.    Natural  and  Positive, 44 


10 

Sec.  I'age. 

9.  The  Essential  Character  of  Cbristianity,      .         46 

1.  The  Relation  of  Christianity  to  Heathenism  and  Judaism,  46 

2.  The  Essential  Character  of  Christianity,       ...  46 

3.  The  Historical  Conception  of  Christianity,         .        .        .  46 

4.  The  Truth  of  Christianity, 47 

10.  Romanism  and  Protestantism  contrasted,      .     47 

1.  False  explanations  of  the  difference,        .        .         .        .  47 

2.  A  general  statement  of  the  difference,    ...         .  48 

3.  The  Essential  Character  of  Romanism,     ....  48 

4.  Romanism  criticised, 49 

5.  The  Essential  Character  of  Protestantism,       ...  51 

11.  Lutheran  Protestantism, 58 

1 .  The  Difference  between  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Protes- 

tantism  59 

2.  The  Material  and  Formal  Principle,      ....         62 

3.  The  Material  Principle  of  Lutheranism,    ...         .62 

4.  The  Formal  Principle  of  Lutheranism,         ...  65 

5.  The  Historical  Character  of  Lutheran  Protestantism,         .     67 

6.  The  Internal  Assurance  of  Salvation,       .        .        .        .      70 

III.    The  Method  of  Dogmatics. 

12.  The  Formation  of  a  Dogmatic  System,  .       72 

1.  The  Material  Principle  of  Dogmatics,       ....  72 

2.  The  Holy  Scriptures  as  the  Normative  factor  of  Dogmatics,  73 

3.  The  Canon  of  Scripture,        ' 74 

4.  The  Interpretation  of  Scripture, 82 

13.  The  Church  Doctrine  and  the  Subjective  Con- 

sciousness of  Faith, 87 

1.  The  Churchly  Character  of  Dogmatics,      ....  88 

2.  The  Confessions  of  the  Church, 88 

3.  The  Church  Doctrine  as  consisting  of  Articles  of  Faith,  109 

4.  The  Fundamental  Principles  of  Faith  of  the  General  Coun- 
cil of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  North  America,  116 

5.  The  Consciousness  of  Faith, 120 

14.  The  Disposition  of  Dogmatics,     .       .       .       .120 

IV.    The  History  of  Dogmatics. 

15.  The  Dogmatics  of  the  Ancient  Church,        .        132 


11 

Seo.  Page. 

16.  The  Dogmatics  of  the  Middle  Ages,          .       .  154 

1.  The  Essential  Character  of  Scholasticism,        .        .  154 

2.  Tke  Beginnings  of  Scholasticism,         ....  156 

3.  The  Period  of  the  highest  Uoom  of  Seholasiieism,    .  .     162 

4.  The  Period  of  its  Decline, 167 

5.  Mysticism  and  Pre- Reformatory  Theology,      .        .  .169 

6.  The  Humanists, 173 

17.  The  Dogmatics  of  the  Century  of  the  Reforma- 

tion,         174 

1.  The  Dogmatics  of  Melanehthon, 174 

2.  The  Melanehthonian  School  of  Dogmatics,        .        .  .177 

3.  The  Reformed  Dogmatics, 180 

18.  The  Orthodox  Dogmatics  of  Seventeenth  Cen- 

tury,       184 

1.  Characteristic  of  this  Dogmatics,         ....  185 

2.  The  divers  Tendencies  of  this  Period,       .        .        .  188 

3.  The  Dogmaticians  of  this  Period,         ....  189 

4.  The  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  Dogmatics  of  this  Period,  .     198 

19.  The  Dogmatics  of  tlie  Period  of  Transition,      210 

1.  The  Dogmatics  of  Pietism, 210 

2.  The  Biblical  Tendency,      . 214 

3.  The  Historical  Tendency, 217 

4.  The  Philosophical  Tendency, 219 

5.  The  History  of  Dogmatics  outside  of  Germany,    .       .  221 

20.  The  Dogmatics  of  Rationalism  and  Suprana- 

turalism, 223 

1.  The  Period  of  Illumination, 223 

2.  Rant, 227 

3.  Vulgar  Rationalism,     ' 228 

4.  Supranaturalism, 230 

21.  The  Dogmatics  of  the  Most  Recent  Time,     .      233 

1.  The  Renewal  of  Religious  Faith, 233 

2.  The  Philosophy  of  this  Period, 234 

3.  The  Emotional  Theology  of  this  Period,    ...        .        .237 

4.  The  Dogmatics  of  the  Mediating  Theology.    ...  240 

5.  Confessional  Dogmatics,        .  •        .        .        .        .     245 

Index 258 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 


SECTION  I. 

THE  OBJECT  OF  THE  INTRODUCTION. 

In  the  Introduction  or  Prolegomena  to  a  Sys- 
tem of  Christian  Theology  we  treat  of  the  Defini- 
tion, the  Contents,  the  Method,  and  the  History, 
of  Dogmatics. 

The  more  ancient  dogmatic  systems  have  no  proper 
Introduction.  In  Melanchthon's  i^ociV  which  is  the 
first  great  Protestant  system  of  Dogmatics,  the  locus  Z)e 
Deo  follows  immediately  after  the  preface.  Selnecker 
(d.  1592),  who  wrote  a  commentary  on  the  Loci  of 
Melanchthon,  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  practice  of 

I.  First  published  in  1521,  enlarged  and  altered  especially  in  the  editions  of 
1535  and  1543.  Before  the  death  of  Melanchthon  in  1560,  this  book  had  been  re- 
printed nearly  eighty  times  in  various  editions  (17  editions  of  the  text  of  1521,  14 
of  that  of  1535,  and  34  of  that  of  1543).  For  almost  an  entire  century  these  Loct 
served  as  the  basis  and  model  of  the  dogmatic  teaching  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 


14  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

prefacing  works  in  Dogmatics  with  Prolegomena'^. 
Chemnitz  {d.  1586),  who  also  wrote  a  commentary  on 
the  Loci  of  Melanchthon,  his  teacher,  prefixes  to  his 
system^  a  brief  dissertation  on  '*  The  use  and  utility  of 
theological /oci."  Gerhard*  {d.  1637),  after  a  short 
preface  on  "The  Nature  of  Theology,"  begins  with  a 
locus  of  230  closely-printed  quarto  pages  on  ''The 
Holy  Scriptures  "  as  the  only  Source  of  Theology.  In 
QuENSTEDT^  {d.  1688)  there  are  five  introductory  chap- 
ters: 1)  Of  Theology  in  general;  2)  Of  the  general 
subject  of  Theology,  /.  e..  Religion  ;  3)  Of  the  source  of 
Theology;  4)  Of  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  5)  Of  the  Arti- 
cles of  Faith.  This  plan  is  also  followed  by  Heinrich 
ScHMiD  ^  in  his  Doctrinal  Theology  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church,  exhibited  and  verified  from  the  orig- 
inal sources,"  a  work  which  is  of  invaluable  aid  to  the 
English  student  who  wishes  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  Theology  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

The  material  of  Introduction  continued  to  enlarge. 
Our  later  Dogmaticians  give  special  prominence  to  the 
apologetic  questions  concerning  Revelation,  Miracles, 
Prophecy,  the  Doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture,  Inspiration, 
Faith  and  Knowledge.  Carl  Hase^  in  his  Hutterus  Re- 
divivus  (a  marvel  of  condensation)  in  his  Prolegomena 
of  27  sections  discusses  1)  Religion,  2)  Dogmatic  The- 


2.  In  his  Institutiones  Christianae  Religionis.     1,563. 

3.  In  his  Loci  Theologici,  published  after  his  death,  by  Polycarp  Leyser,  1591. 

4.  In  his  great  work  Loci  Theologici,  begun  in  1610  and  completed  in  1621. 
The  best  edition  is  that  of  Cotta  (Tuebingen,  1762 — 87,  22  vols,).  For  practical  pur- 
poses we  recommend  the  edition  of  Preuss  (1863 — 1875),  in  9  vols.  A  very  full  index 
lately  published  (1885)  greatly  enhances  the  value  of  this  edition,  which  also  pres- 
erves in  the  margin  the  paging  of  Cotta's  edition. 

5.  His  Theologia  didactico-polemica  appeared  in  1685. 

6.  Translated  from  the  fifth  edition  by  Hay  and  Jacobs.  Philadelphia,  1876. 
A  new  revised  edition  will  shortly  appear. 

7.  Reference  will  always  be  made  to  the  eleventh  edition,  I.eipsic,  1868. 


THE  OBJECT   OF   THE  INTRODUCTION.  15 

ology,  and  3)  History  of  Dogmatic  Theology.  Philippis 
(d.  1882)  devotes  his  first  volume  of  346  pages  to  Pro- 
legomena. He  discusses  at  length  the  topics  of  Religion 
and  Revelation,  Faith  and  Doctrine,  Holy  Scripture  and 
Canon,  Inspiration  and  Exposition.  ThomasiuS''  {d. 
1875)  touches  only  the  most  essential  preliminary  ques- 
tions, and  postpones  to  the  Dogmatic  system  itself,  even 
the  discussion  of  the  doctrine  concerning  Holy  Scripture. 
LuTHARDT,io  whose  system  we  closely  follow  devotes 
21  out  of  79  sections  to  his  Prolegomena  and  History 
of  Dogmatics. 

BjORLiNGi  1  in  his  system  devotes  his  First  Part  of 
597  pages  to  his  Introduction  or  Prolegomena.  After 
a  general  introduction  (pp.  1—22)  he  discusses  the  top- 
ics of  Religion  (pp.  22—72),  Faith  (pp.  73—94),  Rev- 
elation (pp.  94—179),  The  Historical  Development  of 
Religion  and  of  Special  Revelation  (pp.  179—272),  The 
Holy  Scriptures  (pp.  272— 334),  Tradition  and  the  Con- 
fessions of  the  Church  (pp.  335—350),  The  Dogmatic 
System  (pp.  350—363),  and  History  of  Dogmatics  (pp. 
364—597). 

8.  Reference  will  be  made  to  the  third  edition  of  his  Kirchliche  Glaubens- 
lehre,  as  far  as  it  has  appeared.    Guetersloh,  1883.    6  Parts  in  9  vols. 

9.  In  his  Christi  Pe?'son  und  Werk.  Second  edition.  3  vols.  Erlangen, 
1856—63. 

10.  See  his  Kompendhnn  der  Dogmatik.  7  verb,  und  verm.  Aufl.  Leipsic,  1886. 

11.  In  his  Den  Christ eliga  Dogmatiken  enligt  Lutherska  Kyrkans  Bekan- 
nelseskrifter.     Second  revised  and  enlarged  edition,  Orebro,  1866. 

F6rra  delen:  Den  Christeliga  Dogmatikens  vetenskapliga  grundlaggning  (Vol. 
I.  pp.  I — 597).  Andra  delen:  Porsta  afdeln. — Den  Ursprungliga  Foreningen  med 
Gud  (Vol.  II.  pp.  I — 300);  Andra  afdeln. — Storandet  af  den  Ursprungliga  FOre- 
ningen  med  Gud  (Vol.  III.  pp.  i — 94);  Tredje  afdeln. — Cm  det  objektiva  S.terstal- 
landet  af  den  genom  Synden  sterda  FOreningen  med  Gud  (Vol,  IV.  pp.  i — 248); 
Fjerde  afdeln. — Tillampningen  af  den  objektiva,  genom  Jesus  Christus  forv^rfvade 
Fralsningen  eller  Aterforeningen  med  Gud  (Vol.  V.  pp.  i — 371);  Femte  afdeln. — 
Den  Christeliga  Eskatologien  (Vol.  VI.  pp.  1—77). 


16  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

S.  L.  Bring!  -  in  his  well-known  work  gives  us  a  very 
brief  introduction  of  69  pages. 

Of  the  Reformed  Systems  of  Theology  published  in 
this  country,  Charles  Hodge ^  ^  {d.  1878)  (Presbyterian) 
in  his  Introduction  of  188  pages  discusses  1)  Method,  2) 
Theology,  3)  Rationalism,  4) Mysticism  (Quietism, Quak- 
ers), 5)  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  concerning  the  Rule 
of  Faith  (Tradition,  Infallibility),  6)  Protestant  Rule 
of  Faith,  (Canon,  Inspiration, Rules  of  Interpretation). 
VANOosTERZEEi*((i.  1882)  (Dutch  Reformed)  prefaces  his 
System  with  an  Introduction  (1.  Character,  2.  Sources, 
3.  History,  4.  Claims,  of  Christian  Dogmatics)  of  74 
pages,  followed  by  Part  I.  The  Apologetic  Foundation 
(pp.  75 — 228),  in  which  he  discusses  Religion,  Revelation 
and  Holy  Scripture.  Strong^^  (Baptist)  in  his  Pro/e^o- 
mena  treats  of  1)  The  Idea,  2)  The  Material,  3)  The 
Method,  of  Theology.  Henry  B.  Smitri^  (^z.  1877) 
(Presbyterian)  in  six  chapters  discusses  1)  The  Idea  of 
Christian  Theology,  2)  The  Sources  of  Christian  The- 
ology, 3)  Natural  Theology,  4)  Revelation,  5)  Divine  Au- 
thority of  Revelation  (Canon,  Inspiration),  6)  Divisions 
of  Theology. 

12.  \n\As,Grunddragen  af  den  ChristeligaTroslaran.  Forsta  delen:  Inled- 
ning  (pp.  I — 69) — I.  Gud  s^som  uppenbarelsens  princlp  (pp.  69 — 94);  2,  Guds 
inre  uppenbarelse  (pp.  95—126);  Guds  yttre  uppenbarelse  (pp.  127—276).  Lund, 
1869.  Andra  delen:  Forsta  haftet— Christi  Person  och  verk  (pp.  i— 149).  Lund, 
1876.  Andra  haftet — L^ran  om  Anden  och  hans  verk  (pp.  i — 200),  4.  Uppen- 
barelsens fuliandning  (pp.  201 — 257).     Lund,  1877. 

13.  See  his  Systematic  Theology.     3  vols.     New  York,  1883. 

14.  See  his  Christian  Dogmatics.     2  vols.     New  York,  1874. 

15.  Systematic  Theology  by  Augustus  Hopkins  Strong.     Rochester,  1886. 

16.  See  his  Introduction  to  Christian  Theology.  New  York,  1883.  A  work 
published  separately  from  his  System  of  Theology. 


DEFINITION  OF  THEOLOGY.  17 

I.    DEFINITION  OF  DOGMATICS. 
SECTION  II. 

DEFINITION  OF  THEOLOGY. 

Theology  is  the  churchly  science  of  Christian- 
ity. 

1.  The  usage  of  the  word. 

According  to  its  derivation,  theology  is  the  discourse 
about  God  and  divine  things.  In  the  usage  of  the  Church 
theologia  primarily  referred  to  language  and  reasoning 
concerning  divinity  ^  It  was  more  especially  and  by  pre- 
eminence given  to  the  doctrine  concerning  the  Trinity, 
or  concerning  the  Godhead  of  the  Logos,  on  which  ac- 
count the  Apostle  John  was  called  by  pre-eminence  the 
Divine,  the  Theologian.  For  the  same  reason  Gregory 
Nazianzen  (d.  389),  because  of  his  defence  of  the  deity 
of  the  Logos  against  the  Arians,  was  called  the  Theolo- 
gian. Some  Dogmaticians  (Hase,  Hodge,  Vilmar,  etc.) 
still  use  the  word  in  this  narrow  sense  as  designating 
the  Doctrine  concerning  God  {De  Deo). 

The  word  obtained  that  ^de  sense  in  which  we  now 
use  it,  as  a  scientific  statement  of  the  discussion  of  the 
whole  body  of  doctrine,  in  the  twelfth  century,  when 
Abelard  (1079—1142)  named  his  manual  of  doctrine 
Theologia  Christiana. 

2.  Divisions  of  Theology. 

Theology  may  be  considered  1)  as  a)  general  and 
b)  special;  2)  as  a)  false  and  b)  true;  3)  as  a)  arche- 
typal and  b)  ektypal. 

I.  "By  the  Greek  word  theologia  we  understand  to  mean  an  account  or  ex- 
planation of  the  divine  nature."  Augustine  in  his  "  City  0/ God,''  VIII.  I.  Vol. 
2,  p.  144  of  Schaff's  edition  of  "The  Nicene  and  Post-Nicene  Fathers."  First 
Series.     Buffalo,  1887. 


18  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

1)  As  general  theology  it  is  the  knowledge  of  God 
of  whatever  kind,  even  natural  knowledge,  provided  it 
be  true.  As  special  it  is  that  knowledge  of  God  and  the 
divine  mysteries  which  is  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  and 
through  them  delivered  to  man. 

2)  Theolog3^  can  only  be  called  false  by  a  sort  of  per- 
version of  the  word,  asv^rhen  v^e  speak  of  heathen,  Jew- 
ish and  Pseudo-Christian  theology.  True  theology  is  the 
pure  emanation  of  God's  teaching,  in  nature  or  in  his 
Word. 

3)  Archetypal  {i.e., original)  theology  is  that  infinite 
wisdom  of  God  itself  whereby  God  knows  himself  in 
himself,  and  knows  all  things  external  to  himself  through 
himself^.  Matt.  11:  27;  1  Cor.  2:  10,  '' for  the  Spirit 
searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God. ^^  This 
archetypal  theology  belongs  to  Christ  essentially,  and 
by  virtue  of  his  nature,  inasmuch  as  he  is  the  eternal 
God ;  it  belongs  to  him  personally  according  to  his  hu- 
man nature,  by  virtue  of  the  communicatio  idiomatuza, 
in  consequence  of  the  personal  union  (Hollaz,^  Quest. 
8,  p.  4).  Col.  2:  9,  '' For  in  him  (Christ)  dwelleth  all 
the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.'' 

Ektypal  (i.  e.,  derived)  theology  is  an  image  and 
shadow  of  that  infinite  and  essential  knowledge  which 
God  has  of  himself.  It  is  communicated  to  intelligent 
creatures  by  God  after  the  model  of  his  own  theolog3^, 
as  a  pattern.  1)  It  belongs,  first  of  all,  to  Jesus  as  a 
man.  Luke  2:  40,  ^^  And  the  child  grew,  and  waxed 
strong,  Riled  with  wisdom  :  and  the  grace  of  God  was 
upon  him.''  2)  It  belongs  to  angels.  Matt.  18:  10; 
Eph.  3  :  10 ;  1  Pet.  1 :  12,  "  which  things  angels  desire 

2.  Ipsa  infinita  Dei  sapientia,  qua  Deus  se  ipsum  cognoscit  in  se  ipso;  et 
extra  se  omnia  per  se  ipsum. 

3.  See  his  Exame?t  Theologice  Acroamaticce.     Edition  of  1741. 


DEFINITION  OF  THEOLOGY.  19 

to  look  into.''  3)  Finally,  it  belongs  to  man,  revealed 
to  him  through  the  Word  and  taught  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

3.  Definition  of  Revealed  Theology. 

Theology,  strictly  so  called,  is  that  exalted  practical 
science,  revealed  through  God's  Word,  which  teaches  all 
things  which  sinful  man,  capable  of  eternal  salvation, 
must  know  and  do,  in  order  to  acquire  true  faith  in 
Christ  and  attain  holiness  of  life  {Hollaz,  1,  p.  1.). 

The  true  theologian  must  of  necessity  be  a  regener- 
ate man,  firmly  believing  the  divine  Word,  adhering  to 
it  with  unshaken  confidence,  apt  in  teaching  others,  and 
skilful  in  confuting  opponents.  Even  to  a  deep  theoret- 
ical comprehension  of  theology,  over  against  a  mere 
external  (philological)  knowledge,  supernatural  grace 
is  necessary. 

Theology,  viewed  as  a  system,  and  in  a  secondary 
sense,  is  that  doctrine  or  teaching  drawn  from  the  Word 
of  God,  by  which  men  are  instructed  in  the  true  faith 
and  in  a  pious  life  unto  eternal  salvation. 

The  subject-matter  of  theology  consists  of  theological 
truth,  i.  e.,  of  facts  or  conclusions  known  or  deduced 
from  the  supernatural  revelation  of  God. 

Since  the  eighteenth  century  the  word  theology  has 
been  objectively  used  as  the  body  of  the  teachings  of  the 
Christian  religion,  learnedly  and  accurately  set  forth, 
and  arranged  in  accordance  with  an  artificial  form. 
Theology,  according  to  this  view,  is  the  science  of  relig- 
ion. Kahnis^  defines  theology  as  "the  scientific  self- 
consciousness  of  the  Church." 

4.  The  Means  of  Theological  Study. 

There  are  three  means :  1)  Prayer,  2)  meditation,  and 
3)  experience.  ''Prayer  begins  the  study  of  theology, 
meditation  continues  it,  and  experience  confirms  it." 

4.     In  his  Lutherische  Dogmatik,     Second  edition.     2  vols.    1874—75. 


20  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

As  Christian  theology  is  the  science  of  divine  things, 
it  cannot  be  mastered  without  profound  study.  Whether 
a  man  has  really  mastered  his  profession  or  not  will 
soon  be  found  out.  They  who  belittle  theology,  perhaps 
because  they  have  never  studied  it  and  thus  do  not 
know  its  rich  contents,  are  simply  dishonoring  their 
profession. 

There  are  therefore  certain  requisites  to  the  successful 
study  of  theology.  Among  others  we  may  mention: 
1)  natural  endowments;  2)  a  disciplined  mind;  3)  a 
well-balanced  mind ;  4)  thorough  preparatory  training ; 

5)  a  knowledge  of  the  original  languages  of  the  Bible ; 

6)  an    acquaintance  with  mental  and  moral  science; 

7)  an  inward  vocation ;  8)  a  holy  affection  toward  God ; 
9)  spiritual  mindedness ;  10)  professional  zeal;  11)  the 
enlightening  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  12)  a  diligent 
use  of  the  means  of  theological  study. 

5.     The  Aim  of  Theology, 

The  aim  of  theology,  as  a  science,  is  to  set  forth,  in  a 
systematic  way,  the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion. 
"  Its  immediate  aim  is  true  faith  in  Christ,  and  this  faith 
operates  in  a  two-fold  way:  1)  internally,  embracing 
Christ  with  his  benefits,  and  2)  externally,  producing 
good  works.  The  ultimate  aim  of  theology  is  eternal 
happiness,  which  consists  not  only  in  intuitive  knowl- 
edge of  God,  but  also  in  the  enjoyment  of  him  "  (Hollaz). 

SECTION  III. 

THE  CLAIMS  OF  THEOLOGY. 

Although  the  Bible  is  not  a  system  of  theol- 
ogy, still  God  reveals  to  us  in  his  Word  the 
truths  which,  if  properly  understood  and  ar- 
ranged, constitute  the  Science  of  Theology.  Such 


CLAIMS  OF  THEOLOGY.  21 

a  science  is  necessary  to  satisfy  the  intellect,  to 
direct  the  affections,  and  to  develop  the  practical 
life  of  the  minister  and  of  the  Church.  It  is  possible 
because  God  has  revealed  himself  to  man,  and 
the  relation  of  faith  to  knowledge,  and  of  Theol- 
ogy to  Philosophy  is  such,  as  not  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  a  theological  science. 

Theology  claims  our  regard  and  prayerful  study  : 

1.  Because  it  is  a  Biblical  Science. 

It  has  its  origin  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  is  distinctly 
recognized  in  the  artless  yet  specific  language  of  Scrip- 
ture. It  calls  our  attention  to  the  value  of  skill  over 
against  unskilfulness,  of  learning  over  against  ignor- 
ance, of  system  over  against  confusion,  of  the  mastery 
of  knowledge  over  against  the  feebleness  of  a  novice. 
And  all  these  are  the  marks  of  a  genuine  theology. 
There  is  a  scribe  thoroughly  furnished  for  the  kingdom 
(Matt.  13:  52),  implying  that  there  are  scribes  not 
thoroughly  furnished.  Paul  was,  relatively,  what  would 
now  be  called  a  great  dogmatician ;  Apollos  would  be 
styled  a  biblical  theologian ;  Luke  would  be  considered 
a  master  in  historical  theology. 

The  pastors,  as  shepherds,  must  also  be  teachers, 
(Eph.  4:  11) ;  the  bishop  must  be  apt  to  teach  (1  Tim. 
3 :  2 ;  2  Tim.  2  :  24) .  The  teacher  must  be  ''  a  workman 
that  needeth  not  to  he  ashamed,  handUng  aright  the 
word  of  truth  "  (2  Tim.  2 :  15),  ''holding  to  the  faithful 
word  which  is  according  to  the  teaching,  that  he  maybe 
able  both  to  exhort  in  the  sound  doctrine,  and  to  convict 
the  gainsay ers^^  (Tit.  1:9). 

2.  Because  of  its  scientific  necessity. 

The  science  which  traces  the  doctrinal  claims  of 
Christianity,  in  their  relation,  their  mutual  dependenc^^, 
and  their  harmonious  organization  is  necessary  : 


22  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

1)  To  satisfy  the  intellect.  To  edify  is  to  build ;  build- 
ing requires  order,  harmony,  and  proportion.  The  more 
perfect  a  religion  is  the  more  does  it  tend  to  a  scientific 
system.  The  science  of  theology  meets  the  deepest  want 
of  man's  rational  nature.  Nature  rises  into  Science, 
Revelation  into  Theology. 

2 )  To  give  the  wisest  direction  to  the  affections.  Truth 
systematically  presented  promotes  the  development  of 
Christian  character,  a)  It  enlightens  the  understanding 
with  sound  knowledge,  so  that  men  have  clear  views  of 
truth ;  b)  it  awakens  emotion  through  that  truth  and 
by  truth  strengthens  and  purifies  emotion ;  c)  it  directs 
the  will  and  conscience,  b3^  the  power  of  that  emotion, 
to  activity  in  making  man  holy,  and  in  impelling  him  to 
do  good  to  others.  That  piety  that  can  be  injured  by 
the  systematic  presentation  of  the  great  doctrines  oi 
Christianity  must  be  weak,  mystical,  spurious,  or  mis- 
taken. 

3)  To  develop  perfectly  the  practical  life  of  the  min- 
ister, and  his  uselulness  as  a  teacher  of  religion.  The 
minister  must  have  all  the  knowledge  which  adapts  him 
to  the  wants  of  the  Church.  He  must  know  her  history 
and  practical  needs,  the  need  of  the  altar,  the  need  of  the 
pulpit,  the  need  of  the  pastor,  and  of  the  people.  All 
this  can  only  be  obtained  by  the  diligent  study  of  the 
science  of  theology.  Nothing  more  certainly  destroys  a 
minister's  influence  for  good  than  confusion  and  incon- 
sistency in  his  doctrinal  statements.  To  mutilate  or  to 
misrepresent  truth  is  not  only  a  sin  against  God,  but  it 
ma}^  also  prove  the  ruin  of  men's  souls.  The  function  of 
the  minister  is  to  proclaim  the  truth  of  God  to  men,  and 
his  first  duty  is  to  learn  it ;  and  he  will  be  a  traitor  to 
himself  and  to  his  high  calling  if  he  does  not  resolve,  so 
far  as  he  has  the  power,  above  all  things,  to  be  a  theo- 


CLAIMS  or  THEOLOGY.  23 

logian.  He  may  be  something  besides,  but  this  he  must 
be.  Spurgeon  truly  says  :  ''We  shall  never  have  great 
preachers  until  we  have  great  divines." 

4)  To  develop  the  practical  life  of  the  Church.  There 
is  a  close  connection  between  purity  of  doctrine  and  pu- 
rity of  life.  For  a  misrepresentation  of  the  truth,  or  a 
defective  understanding  of  the  truth,  sooner  or  later,  re- 
sults in  defects  of  organization,  and  in  errors  of  opera- 
tion and  of  life.  There  is  a  foundation  on  which  the 
Church  rests,  and  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay 
than  that  which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ.  The  min- 
ister must  know  the  development  of  the  Church  in  faith 
and  creed,  he  must  be  enriched  by  the  lessons  of  the 
Church's  past,  for  his  labor  in  preparing  the  way  for  the 
Church  of  the  future.  The  science  of  theology  is  neces- 
sary for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church. 

3.     Because  it  is  possible. 

The  objection  has  been  made  that  theology  can  not 
be  regarded  as  a  science,  because  the  truths  that  are 
therein  contained  are  not  proper  objects  of  knowledge, 
because  they  are  to  be  apprehended  only  by  faith.  But 
faith  and  knowledge  do  not  stand  in  such  relation  to 
each  other,  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  theological 
science.  Faith  is  only  a  higher  sort  of  knowledge.  By 
faith  we  apprehend  what  is  beyond  our  knowledge.  The 
three  elements  of  faith  are  knowledge,  assent  and  confi- 
dence ;  the  first  two  are  acts  of  the  intellect,  and  the 
third  an  act  of  the  will.  Faith  is  therefore  the  joint  act 
of  the  intellect  and  the  will.  So  Gerhard  and  Philippic . 
This  intimate  coherence  of  faith  and  knowledge  is  con- 
stantly and  expressly  referred  to  in  the  Bible  itself  (1 
Cor.  13:  12;  14:  20;   1  John  2:  20). 

I.  "  Der  Glaube  is  ein  Act  des  ganzen  erkennenden  und  wollenden  Menschen- 
geistes  in  seiner  untheilbaren  Einheit."    Philippics  Kirch.  Gl.  I.  54. 


24  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

There  has  been,  indeed,  even  in  the  Church,  a  disposi- 
tion to  exalt  one  over  the  other.  The  Alexandrian  tend- 
ency was  to  give  ^'gnosis''  or  knowledge  a  higher  place 
than  ^^plstis'^  or  faith,  while  the  principle  of  Augustine, 
adopted  by  the  Scholastics,  was:  crede  ut  intelligas ; 
tides  prsecedit  intellectutn,  —  ''believe  that  thou  mayest 
understand;  faith  precedes  understanding."  But  the 
question  is  not  which  precedes,  but  what  is  their  rela- 
tion to  each  other.  Jacobi  {d.  1819)  confessed  that  to 
him  the  dualism  of  faith  and  knowledge  was  hopeless. 
The  Hegelian  philosophy  resolved  faith  into  knowledge. 
ScHLEiERMACHER  (d.  1848)  maintained  "that  under- 
standing and  emotion  are  the  two  foci  of  our  ellipse, 
and  that  oscillation  is  the  universal  form  of  all  finite 
being." 

In  this  whole  discussion  we  must  lay  stress  upon  the 
fact,  that  faith  itself,  as  such,  is  already  a  knowledge ; 
— that  it  is  an  immediate  and  remains  the  immanent 
presupposition  throughout  the  unfolding  of  this  knowl- 
edge ;  that  the  antithesis  of  faith  is  not  knowledge,  but 
sight  and  mathematical  demonstration. 

Christlieb^  :  "All  knowledge  is,  in  the  last  instance, 
conditioned  by  faith ;  and  faith  is  the  preliminary  and 
the  medium  of  every  act  of  intelligence.  He  who 
believes  nothing,  knows  nothing.  The  antithesis  is 
not  that  of  faith  and  knowledge,  but  that  of  faith  and 
unbelief. ' ' 

Strong  :  "  The  possibility  of  theology  has  a  threefold 
ground :  1)  In  the  existence  of  a  God  who  has  relations 
to  the  universe ;  2)  In  the  capacity  of  the  human  mind 
for  knowing  God  and  certain  of  these  relations;  and  3) 
In  God's  revelation  of  himself  to  man." 

9.     See  his  Modern  Doubt  and  Christian  Belief,  pp.  124 — 135. 


CLAIMS  OF   THEOLOGY.  25 

4.     Because  its  results  are  in   harmony  with   those   of  a   genuine 
philosophy  1. 

There  are  those  who  maintain  that  philosophy  and 
theology  are  irreconcilable.  Hence  some  repudiate  phil- 
osophy, considering  theology  as  the  fixed  point,  —  while 
very  many  repudiate  theology,  denying  its  claims  on  the 
ground  that  it  cannot  be  in  harmony  with  philosophy. 
It  is  very  true,  that  within  the  domain  of  theological 
thinking,  even  in  the  Christian  Church,  very  different 
philosophical  schools  have  risen  and  flourished.  The 
stiniggle  between  Realism  and  Nominalism  ran  through 
generations.  Aristotle  and  Plato  have  alternated  as 
masters  of  Christian  philosophy.  Plato  represents,  in 
general,  the  idealistic  tendency,  and  Aristotle,  the  prac- 
tical and  positive.  Almost  all  philosophy  is  in  some 
sense  a  development  of  one  or  the  other  of  these  tenden- 
cies, or  an  attempt  to  unite  them.  Luther  spoke  with 
special  violence  against  the  Aristotelian  philosophy  and 
perverted  reason,  and  barren  speculation  in  general. 
Melanchthon,  who  was  more  profoundly  learned  in 
Greek  philosophy  than  Luther,  thought  better  of  Ari- 
stotle, and  indeed  advocated  a  sober  Aristotehanism. 
The  later  orthodox  theologians  of  our  Church  come 
more  in  contact  with  logic  as  one  of  the  philosophical 
sciences,  than  with  metaphysical  speculation.  Philo- 
sophical sobriety  and  caution  are  eminently  character- 
istic of  the  Lutheran  Theology,  and  very  few  of  its 
arguments  and  none  of  its  doctrines  rest  on  philosoph- 
ical "data,"  which  latter  are  ever  likely  to  be  subjects  of 
dispute  among  men  of  solid  thought. 

Hollaz  truly  says :    ''  Philosophy  is  not  contrary  or 
contradictory  to  revealed  theology." 

The  words  of  St.  Paul  (Col.  2  :  8)  imply  no  condemn- 


I.     Compare  Krauth's  Manuscript  Lectures. 


26  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

ation  of  a  true  philosophy,  but  the  very  contrary.  He 
implies  that  there  is  a  true  philosophy  which  is  no 
empty  deceit,  is  not  after  the  tradition  of  men,  and  is 
according  to  Christ.  But  philosophy  must  be  regarded 
only  as  a  handmaid  to  theology. 

Caloyius  says :  "  Philosophy  is  not  opposed  to  The- 
ology": 1)  because  the  true  agrees  with  the  true,  and 
does  not  antagonize  it,  for  what  is  known  by  the  light 
of  nature  is  no  less  true  than  that  what  is  revealed  in 
Scripture ;  2)  because  natural  and  philosophical  knowl- 
edge has  its  origin  also  in  God  ;  3)  because  philosophy 
leads  to  a  knowledge  of  God."  But  Quenstedt  truly 
says  :  "  Although  Philosophy  and  the  principles  of  Rea- 
son are  not  indeed  contrary  to  Theology,  nor  the  latter 
to  the  former,  still  there  is  a  very  great  diiFerence  be- 
tween those  things  that  are  divinely  revealed  in  Scrip- 
ture, and  those  which  are  known  by  the  light  of 
nature." 

Theology  does  not  condemn  the  use  of  Philosophy, 
but  its  abuse  and  its  affectation  of  directorship  as  norm- 
ative and  decisive  in  divine  things. 

Luthardt:  "  Philosophy  is  the  science  of  the  natural 
consciousness,  Theology  of  the  renewed  Christian  con- 
sciousness ;  the  former  has  to  do  with  the  world  of  crea- 
tion and  the  general  principles  of  Being,  the  latter  treats 
of  the  world  of  Redemption  and  of  Salvation ;  the  former 
busies  itself  with  theoretical  issues,  the  latter  with  the 
practical  issues  of  life." 

SECTION   IV. 

THE  ORGANISM  OF  THEOLOGY. 

Positive  Theology  by  its  own  nature  divides 
itself  into  four  main  departments:  1)  Biblical  or 


ORGANISM  OF  THEOLOGY.  27 

Exegetical,  2)  Historical,  3)  Systematic,  and  4) 
Practical.  There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the 
general  correctness  of  this  division,  though  there 
maybe  some  in  regard  to  the  order  of  succession. 
Every  division,  however,  is  only  relative,  for  in 
every  single  department  of  theological  study  all 
the  others  are  involved.  Each  takes  the  hand  of 
the  other,  and  affords  an  outlook  into  the  other. 

I.     Fuller  Definition. 

1)  Exegetical  T/zeo/o^^  comprises  all  that  relates  to 
the  exposition  and  elucidation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  It 
consequently  embraces  Exegesis  as  an  art,  and  all  the 
branches  of  knowledge  auxiliary  to  that  art.  To  it 
belong  the  sciences  of  a)  Sacred  Philology,  b)  Biblical 
Archeology,  c)  Isagogics  or  Biblical  Introduction  and 
Canonics,  d)  Biblical  Criticism  (Textual  and  Higher), 
e)  Hermeneutics,  and  / )  Exegesis,  as  the  practical  ap- 
plication of  Hermeneutics. 

2)  The  result  of  the  application  of  Exegetical  Theo- 
logy to  the  Bible  lays  the  foundation  of  Historical  The- 
ology. It  begins  with  Sacred  History,  and  includes 
what  has  been  developed  in  the  Church  in  the  shape  of 
Church  History  and  the  History  of  Doctrine.  Conse- 
quently it  reaches  back  in  its  beginning  into  Exegesis 
and  ends  by  throwing  a  bridge  over  into  Systematic 
Theology.  To  Historical  Theology  belong  the  sciences 
of  a)  Sacred  History,  b)  Biblical  Theology  (Old  and 
New  Testament),  c)  Church  History,  d)  Ecclesiastical 
Archaeology,  e)  History  of  Doctrines,  f)  Patristics, 
g)  Symbolics  and  h)  Statistics. 

3)  Systematic  Theology  is  the  highest  form  of  theol- 
ogical science.  It  is  the  scientific  and  connected  presen- 
tation of  Christian  doctrine  in  its  relation  to  both  faith 


28  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

and  morals.  For  its  successful  study  a  previous  culture 
is  demanded,  of  an  exegetical,  historical  and  philosoph- 
ical character.  It  naturally  comprises  the  sciences  of 
a)  Apologetics,  b)  Dogmatics  and  c)  Ethics.  Although 
we  accept  the  fact  of  Christianity  as  a  divine  fact,  this 
presupposition  must  be  justified  by  science  to  the  religi- 
ous consciousness .  Hence  Apologetics  properly  precedes 
the  treatment  of  purely  dogmatic  topics. 

4)  Practical  Theology  embraces  the  theory  of  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  Church  as  these  reveal  themselves  in  the 
Church  as  a  whole,  and  in  the  individual  members  and 
representatives  of  it,  acting  in  the  name  of  the  Church. 
It  presupposes  all  those  branches  of  knowledge  through 
which  religion,  in  general,  and  Christianity,  in  partic- 
ular, attain  their  scientific  establishment  and  shape.  To 
Practical  Theology  belong  the  sciences  of  a)  Catechet- 
ics,  b)  Liturgies,  c)  Homiletics,  d)  Pastoral  Theology, 
e)  Evangelistics  (Foreign  Missions),  /")  Diaconics  (Home 
Missions),  and  ^)  Gybernetics  (Church  Polity). 

2.     Dogmatics  and  Ethics. 

The  attempt  was  first  made  to  treat  these  topics 
separately  by  the  Reformed  divines.  Calixtus  (c/.  1656) 
was  the  first  who  introduced  the  change  into  the  Luth- 
eran Church,  and  the  convenience  and  satisfactory  char- 
acter of  this  change  have  led  to  its  almost  universal 
adoption.  Dogmatics  and  Ethics  have  usually  been  re- 
garded as  parallel  sciences.  The  first  gives  an  answer 
to  the  question,  What  thinkest  thou  of  Christ  ?  The 
second  to  the  question.  What  thinkest  thou  of  the  true 
character  of  a  Christian  upon  earth  ?  The  two  sciences 
are  so  interlaced  that  Dogmatics  cannot  wholly  leave 
Ethics  untouched,  and  Ethics  would  become  a  small 
science  indeed,  if  it  were  fully  sundered  from  Dogmatics. 
There  have  not  been  wanting  eminent  theologians  of 


DEFINITION  OF  DOGMATICS.  29 

recent  date,  who  have  been  disposed  to  return  to  the 
old  union  in  the  treatment  of  these  departments.  The 
division,  in  fact,  of  Dogmatics  and  Ethics,  is  rather  one 
of  convenience,  resulting  from  the  vast  range  of  their 
subjects,  than  one  made  necessary  by  the  nature  of  the 
case.  Such  a  division,  however,  is  favorable  to  the  full 
and  clear  handling  of  both,  and  it  is  easy  for  the  stu- 
dent, who  masters  them  both,  in  separate  treatises,  to 
combine  both  in  his  heart,  mind,  life  and  labor. 

SECTION  V. 

DEFINITION  OF  DOGMATICS. 

Dogmatics  is  the  science  which  presents  in 
their  connection  and  mutual  relations,  the  doc- 
trines or  dogmas,  which  it  is  its  aim  to  reproduce 
from  the  religious  faith  of  the  Christian  himself, 
in  harmony  with  the  Scriptures  and  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Church. 

I.     Definition  of  the  word  Dogma. 

The  Greek  word  occurs  first  in  the  writings  of  Xeno- 
phon  and  Plato,  and  its  primary  meaning  is  decree,  a 
conclusion  of  a  popular  assembly.  In  this  sense  of  a 
decree,  an  ordinance,  it  is  used  in  the  New  Testament. 
In  a  secondary  sense  in  classical  usage,  the  word  dogma 
designates  a  philosophical  proposition,  and  it  is  applied 
to  the  authoritative  and  categorical  '  sentences  '  of  the 
philosophers.  Cicero  speaks  of  the  ^'decreta''  (tenets), 
''which  philosophers  call  dogmata.'^  The  word  easily 
passed  over  to  the  meaning  of  doctrine  "  or ''  doctrinal 
statements."  Ignatius  speaks  of ''the  Jo^znata  of  the 
Lord  and  his  Apostles."  Origen  styles  the  Apostles  as 
"teachers  of  dogmas."  Since  the  fourth  century  the 
word  has  come  to  be  more  and  more  limited  to  "doc- 


30  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

trine,"  articles  of  faith,  in  opposition  to  the  doctrines 
of  Ethics,  and  in  distinction  from  preaching,  as  the 
popular  presentation  of  truth. 

2.  The  Name  of  the  Science. 

The  name  of  this  department  of  Theology  has  been 
various.  Melanchthon  calls  his  work  ^'Loci."  It  has 
also  been  called  "Corpus  Doctrinae;  "  Calvin  called  his 
work  ''Institutio; "  Baier  calls  his  "Positive  Theol- 
ogy;" Quenstedt,  "Systematic  and  Thetic  Theology." 
In  the  17th  century  the  name  Dogmatic  Theology  was 
introduced,  and  since  Buddeus  {d.  1729),  this  name  has 
been  the  predominant  one.  No  other  name  so  accurately 
expresses  what  this  branch  of  Theology  proposes  to  it- 
self. In  English  usage  we  have  the  terms  —  "  Systematic 
Theology,"  "System  of  Theology,"  "Christian  Dog- 
matics, "System  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  etc. 

3.  The  Definition  of  Dogmatics. 

The  Scholastics  and  our  own  older  Dogmaticians  re- 
garded Dogmatics  as  a  historico-apologetic  science,  — a 
systematically  arranged  delineation  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church,  with  confirmation  of  it  drawn  from  Holy 
Writ.  According  to  Quenstedt {d.  1688)  "it  sets  forth 
the  theological  commonplaces  or  topics  in  order,  per- 
spicuously explains  them,  accurately  defines  the  dogmas 
or  doctrines  of  faith,  and  divides  them,  deducing  them 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  is  their  primary  place 
and  in  which  they  are  grounded,  demonstrating  them 
from  the  same."  Luthardt  says  that  in  this  definition 
there  is  wanting  the  systematic  development  from  a 
material  principle,  inasmuch  as  the  matter,  is  supposed 
by  it  to  be  already  finished  by  the  existing  Church  doc- 
trine. 

At  a  later  period  Dogmatics  came  to  be  conceived 
of  as  an  historical  science.     Schleiermacher  defines  Dog. 


DEFIXITION  OF  DOGMATICS.  31 

matic  Theology  *'as  the  science  of  the  doctrines  accepted 
in  a  Christian  Church  at  any  particular  time." 

Philippi  says :  '*  Systematic  Theology  has  no  other 
aim  than  the  teaching  of  Christian  religion,  as  this  is 
established  in  the  experimental  consciousness  of  the 
believer,  to  reproduce  it  spiritually  and  to  bring  it  into 
a  scientific,  systematic  form,  for  the  delineation  and 
development  in  every  direction  of  its  divinely  wrought 
facts  in  Jesus  Christ." 

Kahnis  defines  Christian  Dogmatics  as  having  for  its 
aim  the  unfolding  of  the  articles  of  faith  from  the  mate- 
rial principle  of  justification  by  faith,  and  the  dem- 
onstration of  them  from  the  formal  principle  of  the 
absolute  authority  of  Scripture.  Yet  more  decisive  in 
demanding  purely  reproductive  treatment,  Hofmann* 
designates  the  Christian  doctrinal  system  as  the  scien- 
tific self-expression  of  the  theologian,  i.  e.,  of  his  personal 
self-dependent  relation  to  God. 

Dogmatics  is  not  a  bare  philosophy  of  religion,  nor  a 
bare  history  of  dogmas ,  nor  is  it  simply  biblical  or  merely 
symbolico- biblical,  but  it  is  a  historico  -  philosophical 
science,  in  which  the  results  of  historical  exegesis  are 
unified  and  systematized.  It  must  thus  be  distinguished 
from  the  Biblical  Theology  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, as  well  as  from  the  so-called  speculative  theol- 
ogy. It  is  the  sum  of  the  truths  embraced  in  the 
Christian  faith  in  their  organic  connection  with  the  facts 
of  religious  consciousness.  It  apprehends  divine  truth 
primarily  on  its  intellectual  side.  It  is  the  science  of  that, 
of  which  the  Christian  affections  and  the  Christian  life, 
are  the  great  art.  We  can  only  sunder  it  from  them  the- 
oretically, practically  it  should  never  be  sundered  from 
them. ^__.^ 

I.  In  his  Schriftbeweis,  I.  pp.  9— ii.  Reference  will  be  made  to  first  edition 
3  vols.     1852—55. 


32  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

II.    CONTENTS  OF  DOGMATICS. 
SECTION  VI. 

THE  DEFINITION  OF  RELIGION. 

Eeligion  is  the  relation  of  the  fellowship  of 
man  with  God,  a  relation  grounded  in  the  nature 
of  man  and  actualized  in  Christianity. 

1.  The  Word  Religion. 

The  derivation  of  the  word  religion  has  been  much 
discussed,  a)  Some  would  derive  it  from  '^  relinquere,^^ 
as  designating  a  separation  from  the  world ;  h)  Lactan- 
tius  derives  the  word  from  ''  religare,^'  to  bind  back,  as 
indicating  that  bond  of  piety  with  which  we  are  united 
to  God.  So  Augustine  and  our  older  Dogmaticians; 
c)  But  the  true  derivation  is  from  relegere,  ^^  to  ponder 
over  a  thing,''  thus  designating  a  diHgent  attention  to 
those  things  which  pertain  to  the  worship  of  God.  So 
already  Cicero  and  the  later  grammarians ;  also  Phil- 
ippi  and  the  later  Dogmaticians. 

2,  The  Definition  of  Religion, 

In  the  word  religion,  and  in  the  related  Greek  words 
used  in  the  New  Testament  (threskeia,  latreia,  and  the 
original  for  ''superstitious"  in  Acts  17:  22),  is  expres- 
sed a  relation  of  man  to  God,  the  particular  character 
of  which  cannot  be  known  from  the  words  themselves. 
The  most  wide-reaching,  broad,  yet  definite,  expression 
of  the  relation  to  God,  which  is  involved  in  the  true  use 
of  the  word  religion,  is  expressed  by  Augustine  in  the 
first  passage  of  his  ''  Confessions  "  :  "  Thou,  O  God,  hast 
made  us  for  thyself,  and  our  heart  is  at  unrest,  until  it 
rests  in  thee."  The  universal  religious  tendency  demands 
as  a  postulate,  communion  with  God,  in  some  shape  or 


DEFINITION  OF  RELIGION.  33 

other.  This  feeling  is  common  to  all  forms  of  faith,  how- 
ever dim  it  may  be,  and  however  obscured  by  supersti- 
tion. It  springs  from  the  innate  yearning  of  the  creature 
for  pardon,  love,  and  fellowship  with  the  Creator.  It 
is  the  aspiration  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  being  to- 
wards its  source,  — as  St.  Paul  expresses  it,— it  is  a 
feeling  and  seeking  after  God,  if  haply  they  might  find 
him  (Acts  17:  27).  Christianity  is  the  actuality  of  this 
fellowship,  and  at  the  same  time  is  also  the  actualizing 
of  the  ideal  of  religion.  Beck^  says  :  ''  Christianity  as 
the  religion  for  the  whole  world,  must  of  necessity  em- 
brace all  the  genuine  elements  of  all  religion ;  and  just 
as  necessarily  must  present  in  itself  the  essence  of  all 
religion,  as  it  judges  and  rejects  all  that  conflicts  with 
the  essence".  Philippi  remarks ^  ''that  it  has  become 
a  pretty  general  proposition  of  the  New  Theology,  in  its 
various  forms  and  tendencies,  so  far  as  it  can  yet  claim 
the  name  Christian,  to  define  Christianity,  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  as  a  fellowship  of  man  with  God,  mediated 
through  Christ,  or  to  speak  more  accurately,  restored 
through  Christ.  This  principle,  which  has  become  a 
dogmatic  presupposition,  is  in  fact  sufficiently  strict  in 
the  distinction  it  draws,  to  exclude  every  unchristian 
and  antichristian  point  of  view,  and  yet  again  in  its 
simplicity  and  comprehensiveness,  broad  enough,  to  em- 
brace every  Christian  point  of  view,  properly  such,  how- 
ever diverse  may  be  the  forms  of  that  view". 

1.  In  his  Etnleitung  in  das  System  der  christlichen  Lehre.     Stuttgart,  1838. 
Page  49. 

2.  In  \\\'s>  Kirchliche  Glaubenslehre,  I.  i. 


34  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

SECTION  VII. 

THE  ESSENTIAI.  CHARACTER  AND  TRUTH   OF  RELIGION. 

Religion  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  a  single  side 
of  the  life  of  a  soul,  but  is  a  fact  of  the  entire  in- 
ternal life.  It  is  faith  which  shapes  itself  to,  and 
demands  external  religious  fellowship.  Religion 
consists  of  1)  knowledge,  but  not  mere  knowl- 
edge; 2)  of  activity,  but  not  mere  activity;  3)  of 
emotion,  but  not  mere  emotion.  All  definitions 
which  present  one  of  these  three  to  the  exclusion 
of  both  the  others,  or  two  of  these  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  third,  are  defective,  if  not  absolutely 
false.  Mere  knowledge  is  rationalism  or  dead  or- 
thodoxism ;  mere  activity  is  legalism  or  morality ; 
mere  emotion  is  fanaticism  or  mysticism;  but 
heavenly  knowledge,  applied  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  the  renewal  of  the  affections  and  the  produc- 
ing of  an  earnest  spirit,  whose  fruits  are  deeds 
of  love,  is  the  basis,  and  in  its  connection,  the 
completion  of  true  religion. 

I.     Religion  in  the  subjective  sense. 

Religion  is  a  universal  fact.  This  universality  is  a 
proof  of  its  intrinsic  necessity.  It  has  its  grounds,  its 
cause,  and  its  necessity  in  the  very  constitution  and  es- 
sence of  the  human  spirit  ^  The  very  existence  of  man 
presupposes  the  religious  craving,  the  seeking  after  God. 
God  is  the  deepest  need  of  man,  his  highest  aim,  and 
that  for  which  he  is  incessantly  striving.    All  the  pow- 

1.  Compare  Luthardfs  Apologetic  Lectures  on  the  Fiindamental  Truths  of 
Christianity.  Edinburgh,  1869.  This  whole  paragraph  has  been  condensed  from 
Lecture  6. 


ESSENTIAL  CHARACTER  AND  TRUTH  OF  RELIGION.  85 

ers  of  our  mind  do  not  find  their  aim  till  they  find  God. 
Communion  with  God  is  the  truth  of  man,  religion  his 
true  life.  Without  religion  he  can  not  truly  be  called 
man.  There  is  a  tie  between  us  and  God  — a  tie  of  rela- 
tionship. This  tie,  this  attraction  of  the  soul  toward 
God,  this  craving  for  love,  for  personal  fellowship,  for 
intimate  familiar  intercourse,  is  the  foundation  of  all 
religion,  all  revelation. 

Such  is  the  cause  of  religion  in  man,  and  its  dwelling- 
place  is  his  inmost  soul. 

Religion  has  been  variously  contemplated  as  a  mat- 
ter of  knowledge,  a  matter  of  will,  or  a  matter  of  emo- 
tion ;  but  in  fact  it  is  not  a  matter  of  isolated  points  in 
the  spiritual  life, — it  is  each  one  of  these,  and  all  of  these, 
and  more  than  all.  Religion  is  a  matter  of  knowledge, 
for  to  know  the  only  true  God  and  Jesus  Christ  is  life 
eternal  (John  17:  3).  But  religion  is  not  a  mere  sub- 
ject of  knowledge,  for  knowledge  does  not  make  a  man 
pious,  nor  does  orthodoxy  constitute  him  a  believer.  It 
is  a  matter  of  the  will,  for  it  must  be  a  moral  act,  and 
Jesus  himself  says :  "If  any  man  willeth  to  do  his  will, 
he  shall  know  of  the  teaching"  (John  7:  17).  But  re- 
ligion is  not  a  mere  willing  and  doing,  it  is  also  a  mat- 
ter of  the  feelings,  for  it  is  ''peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost"  (Rom.  14:  17).  But  neither  is  it  this  alone;  it 
is  at  once  knowing,  willing,  and  feeling,  because  it  is  the 
matter  of  the  whole  inner  man,  of  the  root  of  his  per- 
sonal life,  — of  the  heart,  as  Scripture  designates  the  cen- 
tre of  the  personal  life  of  the  inner  man.  For  the  Bible 
transfers  the  abode  of  religion,  and  the  transactions  of 
the  religious  life,  to  the  heart.  The  Word  must  pierce  the 
heart  (Acts  2 :  37) ;  the  heart  must  be  open  to  the  Word 
(Acts  16  :  14) ;  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  right- 
eousness (Rom.  10:  10). 


36  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Our  Lutheran  Dogmaticians  do  not  discuss  this  point 
till  after  the  time  of  Gerhard,  when  Quenstedt  {d.  1688) 
and  HoLLAZ  (cf.  1713)  define  the  Christian  Religion  *'  as 
that  mode  of  worshiping  the  true  God,  which  is  pre- 
scribed in  his  Word."  Baier  (d.  1695)  defines  religion 
as  ''the  acts  of  the  mind  and  of  the  will,  which  are  oc- 
cupied concerning  God,  in  which  acts  God  is  rightly 
acknowledged  and  rightly  worshiped."  Buddeus  (d. 
1729)  says:  "It  is  usual  to  separate  religion  into  two 
parts,  the  true  knowledge  of  God,  and  the  worship 
which  is  due  to  him."  He  observes  in  this  connection 
that  in  his  day  the  greater  stress  was  laid  upon  the 
knowledge  of  God,  "for,"  says  he,  "it  is  most  common 
to  distinguish  the  religions  into  which  the  world  is 
divided  by  the  doctrines  or  opinions  which  men  cherish 
concerning  God  and  divine  things."  Since  the  time  of 
Buddeus,  the  ordinary  definition  of  religion  has  been  "a 
mode  of  knowing  and  worshiping  God." 

Rationalism  and  supematuralism  regard  religion  as 
a  knowledge,  and  regard  cultus  or  worship  as  the  exer- 
cise of  religion. 

Schleiermacher  defines  religion  as  "as  a  determina- 
tion of  emotion."  But  religion  is  not  to  be  regarded  as 
a  mere  determination,  i.  e.,  as  something  passive,  and 
consequently  is  not  the  mere  feeling  of  a  bare  condition 
in  which  the  man  himself  is,  as  it  were,  put  out  of  the 
question,  but  it  is  a  personal  relation.  In  consequence 
of  this  truer  view  and  over  against  Schleiermacher, 
Beck  says:  " The  psychological  primal  shape  of  relig- 
ion cannot  lie  in  an  isolated  fact  of  the  spiritual  life,  nor 
in  one  isolated  activity,  as,  for  example,  emotion,  for 
religion  embraces  in  its  very  origin  all  factors  and  acti- 
vities of  the  spiritual  life  in  their  unity."  He  says  in 
another  place,  "  the  essence  of  all  actual  religion  rests 


ESSENTIAL  CHARACTER  AND  TRUTH  OF  RELIGION.  37 

Upon  and  contains,  both  as  to  its  form,  and  objective 
and  subjective  reality,  faith ;  this  is  true  also  of  its  basis 
and  its  contents  "  (2  Cor.  5:7;  Heb.  11) .  Similar  views 
are  expressed  by  Philippi  and  Kahnis. 

The  fellowship,  however,  of  the  individual  with  God 
involves  and  is  followed  by  the  common  life  of  religion, 
or  as  Kahnis^  expresses  it,  — "is  not  a  mere  knowing, 
not  a  mere  feeling,  not  a  mere  willing,  but  rather  a  con- 
sciousness (knowledge  combined  with  conviction)  of 
God  on  the  ground  of  emotion,  accompanied  by  moral 
surrender." 

2.  Religion  in  the  objective  sense. 

In  its  objective  sense  religion  is  the  common  religious 
life  presenting  itself  in  doctrine,  constitution  and  wor- 
ship, and  is,  consequently,  in  one  aspect,  the  sequel 
as  it  is  in  another,  the  presupposition,  of  subjective 
religion.  Its  self  -  presentation  is  a  thing  of  internal 
necessity.  Thus  the  subjective  religion  which  we  call 
Lutheranism,  is  the  result  of  the  subjective  faith  of  the 
great  restorers  of  the  pure  faith  ;  but  once  established, 
it  becomes  the  presupposition  to  the  subjective  faith  of 
those  who  hold  it  in  its  pure  form.  The  renewed  Chris- 
tianity of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Reformation,  was 
the  result  of  the  faith  of  the  Reformers,  and  our  faith  is 
the  result  of  the  Reformation^.  Man  is  not  merely  an 
individual,  an  isolated  intellectual  being,  but  a  being  of 
history  and  fellow^ship. 

3.  The  Origin  of  Religions. 

Religion  is  not  the  invention  of  statesmen  and  intri- 
guing rulers,  a  view  advocated  by  some  of  the  Deists, 

1.  See  his  Dogm,     L  142. 

2.  Compare  Maittiscript  Lectures  of  Dr.  Krauth. 

3.  Compare  Fisher's  ''■Grounds  of  Theistic  and  Christian  Belief  pp. 
i^_25  ;  De  Pressens&s  "-Study  of  Origins,''  pp.  453—466  ;  LuthardVs  Fun- 
damental Truths,  Lecture  \'I. 


38  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Atheists  and  Materialists  of  the  last  century ;  nor  is  it  to 
be  traced  to  the  phenomena  of  nature,  or  the  perception 
of  marks  of  design  in  nature ;  neither  are  we  to  regard 
the  intellectual  tendency  of  the  mind  as  the  root  of  religi- 
ous faith  and  devotion,  thus  making  religion  the  fruit  of 
an  intellectual  curiosity ;  neither  did  it  take  its  origin  in 
fetich  -  worship  of  ancestors ;  neither  are  we  to  regard  it 
simply  as  the  result  of  divine  instruction,  as  the  older 
dogmaticians, — but  religion  is  an  inner  necessity  of 
man.  Its  origin  is  found  in  the  aspirations  of  the  hu- 
man soul.  It  is  as  essential  for  man  to  have  a  religion 
as  it  is  for  man  to  love.  As  man  cannot  live  without 
his  fellow-men,  so  can  he  not  live  without  God.  It  can 
as  little  be  called  an  invention  as  eating,  drinking, 
sleeping,  or  talking.  It  is  a  thing  natural,  intrinsically 
necessary,  rooted  in  man^s  very  being.  It  is  the  tie  of 
personal  relationship  between  us  and  God.  It  is  that 
remains  of  the  divine  image  through  which  all  external 
self  -  attestation  of  God  enters.  Man  is  a  religious  being 
and  has  a  capacity  for  this  divine  life.  He  is  only  actu- 
ally religious  when  he  enters  into  a  living  relation  with 
God. 

4.     The  Truth  of  Religion. 

The  truth  of  religion  reveals  itself  in  this,  that  it  is 
the  truth  of  man,  that  truth  which  brings  man  to  the 
great  goal  of  his  being,  in  whatever  respect  we  consider 
it,  for  God  is  the  goal  of  man,  of  man's  individual  life, 
and  of  man  in  society,  and  all  man's  advance  is  condi- 
tioned by  religion.  Christianity  is  not  only  a  religion, 
but  the  religion. 


DIVISIONS  OF  RELIGION.  39 

SECTION  VIII. 

THE  DIVISIONS  OF  RELIGION. 

The  judgment  in  regard  to  the  particular 
forms  of  religion  depends  upon  the  truth  of 
that  consciousness  of  God  which  forms  their 
contents  and  matter,  and  of  that  divine  revela- 
tion, or  that  which  claims  to  be  such,  which 
forms  their  basis.  Religion  is  divided  1)  into 
true  and  false,  and  2)  into  ncitural  and  positive. 

I.     True  and  False  Religion. 

a)  When  we  speak  of  false  religion  we  use  the  word 
religion  improperly,  for  that  is  only  properly  religion, 
which  involves  the  true  worship  of  the  true  God.  The 
true  religion  is  that  which  is  conformed  to  the  Divine 
Word.  A  false  religion  either  gives  worship  to  a  false 
god  or  gives  false  worship  to  the  true  God  (Hollaz). 

The  marks  of  the  true  religion  are  thus  stated  by 
Hollaz  1 : 

1)  It  is  the  most  ancient  religion.  Error  may  be  old, 
but  truth  is  always  older,  inasmuch  as  God  is  older 
than  the  devil.  Paganism  is  old,  but  revealed  religion 
is  older ;  Polytheism  is  old,  but  Monotheism  is  the  old- 
est religion.  The  first  enunciation  of  false  religion  in 
the  world  is  recorded  in  the  words  of  the  serpent,  '*ye 
shall  not  surely  die"  (Gen.  '^:  4).  The  earliest  record  of 
the  true  religion  is  in  the  first  two  chapters  of  the  same 
book.  If  Satan  and  his  host  fell  early,  they  were  holy 
still  earlier. 

2)  It  was  approved  by  the  Fathers  even  of  the  Old 
Testament,  It  is  a  mark  of  the  true  religion,  that  it  has 

I.  And  developed  by  Dr.  Krauth  in  his  Manuscript  Lectures,  from  which  I 
have  adapted  this  paragraph. 


40  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

always  had  an  unbroken  life  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
from  the  earliest  patriarchs  to  the  present  hour.  We 
worship  in  this  late  day  of  our  fallen  world  the  same 
God  whom  Adam  and  Eve  worshiped  in  their  sinless 
hours  of  their  fresh  life  in  Paradise.  All  other  systems 
are  unhistorical ;  all  have  begun  later,  and  the  most  of 
them  have  vanished ;  those  that  still  exist  give  evidence, 
that  they  too  must  pass  away.  The  religion  of  the 
Bible  alone  abides. 

3)  It  illustrates  the  glory  of  God.  False  religion 
obscures  that  glory  and  utterly  sets  it  aside.  "  They 
change,^''  says  St.  Paul,  ''  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible 
God  for  the  likeness  of  an  image  of  corruptible  man^^ 
(Rom.  1 :  23).  Even  Mohammedanism,  which  is  but  a 
cunning  plagiarism  of  revelation,  has  but  a  personal 
fate  enthroned  as  God. 

4)  True  religion  rightly  teaches  faith  in  Jesus,  the 
author  of  salvation.  It  solves  the  great  problem  of  re- 
demption ;  it  tells  us  what  redemption  is,  who  our  Re- 
deemer is,  even  Jesus  Christ,  shows  us  how  we  are 
united  to  him,  and  rightly  teaches  that  faith.  It  alone 
meets  the  deepest  ^^eamings  of  our  human  being ;  other 
religions  either  obscure  man's  desire  after  redemption, 
or  deepen  his  sense  of  misery,  or  drive  him  to  useless  and 
cruel  modes,  in  which  he  attempts  to  propitiate  God. 

5)  True  religion  earnestly  inculcates  holiness  of  life. 
It  furnishes  the  power  by  God's  grace  of  perfecting  holi- 
ness in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  False  religions,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  immoral,  either  by  positive  teaching  favorable 
to  vice,  or  by  lack  of  power  to  bring  forth  holy  living. 

6)  True  religion  alone  gives  a  peaceful  conscience. 
The  sense  of  disturbed  relation  between  God  and  the 
sinner, with  the  pang  which  it  brings,  has  found  relief  in 
nothing  but  the  religion  of  the  Bible.     Other  religions 


DIVISIONS  OF  RELIGION.  41 

leave  the  conscience  either  in  perfect  torment,  lull  it 
into  false  security,  sear  it  into  apathy,  or  abandon  it 
to  despair. 

7)  True  religion  alone  produces  joy  and  peace  in  the 
hour  of  death.  False  religion  may  produce  a  spiritual 
torpor,  or  a  defiant  and  fierce  attitude  of  the  soul  in  dy- 
ing, but  true  religion  alone  gives  pure  trust  and  hope, 
which  knows  its  own  reason,  and  a  calm  and  some- 
times triumphant  departure  from  this  world.  It  alone 
robs  death  of  its  sting  and  the  grave  of  its  victory. 

The  difiicult^^  indeed  is  not  to  find  manifold  marks 
to  distinguish  the  true  religion  from  the  false,  but  to 
select  from  the  vast  number.  The  great  danger  of  pre- 
senting the  Evidences  of  Christianity  is  that  of  confus- 
ing the  mind  and  weakening  the  impression  by  dwelling 
on  too  many.  Quenstedt^  describes  the  characteristics 
of  the  true  religion  as  follows:  1)  Divine  sublimity 
(divine  in  its  origin) ;  2)  Unity;  3)  Truth;  4)  Perfection 
(contains  perfectly  and  sufficiently  all  things  necessary 
to  faith  and  Christian  life) ;  5)  Holiness  (it  teaches  a 
knowledge  of  a  holy  God,  the  cultivation  of  a  holy  life, 
it  communicates  holy  precepts,  reveals  holy  mysteries) ; 
6)  Necessity;  7)  Utility;  8)  Antiquity;  9)  Invincibility; 
10)  Perpetuity;  11)  Spontaneity  (is  not  compulsory, 
but  seeks  to  be  taught,  and  calls  for  unconstrained  as- 
sent) ;  12)  Varied  treatment  (exposed  to  various  per- 
secutions, obscured  but  not  extinguished,  oppressed  but 
not  suppressed) ;  13)  Efficacy  (in  illustrating  the  glory 
of  God,  in  soothing  the  conscience,  in  converting  men, 
in  cherishing  growth  in  piety,  etc.). 

b)  The  Perversions  of  Religion.  The  perversions  of 
religion  arise  out  of  the  perversions  of  the  relation  of 
the  consciousness  of  God  and  the  consciousness  of  the 
world.  

I.     Quoted  by  Schmid,  Chap.  2,  §  3.  3. 


42  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

LuTHARDT  classifies  this  perversion  in  a  fourfold 
way: 

1.  The  mingling  or  identification  of  the  two,  God 
and  the  world,  leading  to  Pantheism  when  the  universe 
is  regarded  as  a  whole  with  God,  and  to  Polytheism 
when  it  is  regarded  in  its  separate  constituents.  Pan- 
theism does  away  with  the  idea  of  God,  of  spirit,  and  of 
moral  freedom.  It  so  blends  God  and  the  world,  that 
God  is  the  world  and  the  world  is  God,  and  there  is 
neither  true  world  nor  true  God.  The  philosophic  tend- 
ency of  Pantheism  has  moved  under  two  opposite  im- 
pulses. Under  the  first  it  merges  God  in  the  world,  and 
thus  falls  into  Materialism ;  in  the  other  it  merges  the 
world  into  God,  and  thus  becomes  Absolute  Idealism. 
Over  against  this  tendency  theology  can  only  link  it- 
self with  the  philosophy  which  acknowledges  a  living, 
personal  God.i  Polytheism  is  the  theory  which  as- 
sumes the  existence  of  many  gods.  It  had  its  origin  in 
nature  worship  and  in  the  principles  of  pantheism. 
Whenever  it  appears  as  a  philosophy  it  appears  as  the 
exoteric  counterpart  of  pantheism. 

The  superstition,  which  is  connected  with  the  errors 
of  Pantheism  and  Polytheism,  mistakes  or  ignores  the 
moral  nature  of  the  relation  between  God  and  man, 

2.  The  second  perversion  results  from  the  false  sepa- 
ration of  these  two  spheres  of  consciousness,  leading  to 
Deism  and  a  mechanical  view  of  the  world.  Deism  ac- 
knowledges the  personality  of  God,  believes  him  to  be 
Creator  of  all  things,  but  separates  him  from  the  world, 
so  far  as  all  continuous  and  sympathetic  relation  is 
concerned.  To  Deism  the  world  is  a  great  clock,  made, 
wound  up,  and  set  going,  and  then  left  by  its  Creator. 
God  makes  the  world  and  then  forsakes  the  world.    He 

I.     See  my  Theological  Encyclopaedia^  Part  i.  Exegetical  Theology^  pp.  51, 52. 


DIVISIONS  OF  RELIGION.  48 

is  the  creator  of  man,  but  not  his  father,  he  has  put 
forth  his  hand  to  make  us,  but  he  never  opens  his  mouth 
to  speak  to  us.  Deism,  therefore,  denies  a  particular 
providence,  a  supernatural  revelation,  miracles,  prophe- 
cies, redemption,  and  the  work  of  the  Spirit.  As  it  is  the 
vice  of  Pantheism  that  it  makes  God  immanent  in  the 
world  so  as  to  be  confounded  with  it,  so  it  is  the  char- 
acteristic vice  of  Deism,  to  deny  that  relative  imma- 
nence of  God  in  the  world,  by  which  he  conserves  it, 
guides  it,  and  controls  it  for  the  highest  ends  of  his  wis- 
dom and  love^. 

3.  The  third  perversion  of  religion  is  that,  in  which 
the  consciousness  of  the  world  is  unduly  suppressed  by 
the  consciousness  of  God,  as  in  Mysticism.  The  word 
comes  from  the  Greek  ''  mueisthai,''  literally  to  close  the 
eyes,  then  to  initiate  into  mysteries.  Mysticism  sets  aside 
the  cosmical,  because  it  is  finite,  allows  it  no  validity 
over  against  the  divine.  It  strives  to  rise  to  direct  com- 
munion with  God,  but  loses  itself  in  the  infinite  fulness. 
It  is  antithetical  to  reception  on  authority  (pistis, 
"faith"),  and  to  the  recognition  of  truth  by  the  or- 
dinary use  of  the  faculties  {gnosis,  "knowledge") ;  but 
in  its  soberer  forms  it  takes  both  into  its  service,  holding 
them  in  a  relative  subservience  "^  Dispensing  with  the 
means  of  grace,  often  beginning  in  a  pure,  deep  piety,  it 
has  run  out  in  dangerous  extravagances.  Often  it  has 
been  a  reaction  against  the  externalism  of  a  dead  church. 
The  grades  of  mysticism  were  purification,  illumination, 
ecstatic  union,  and  absorption.  It  was  generally  the- 
istic,  but  in  no  small  number  of  cases  pantheistic.  Of 
Mysticism  as  a  "perversion"  we  have  illustrations  in 
the  old  Anabaptists,  in  Paracelsus,  Boehme,  Sweden- 

1.  Compare  Manuscript  Lectures  of  Dr.  Krauth. 

2.  See  Article  on  Mysticism  in  Johnson's  Cyclopaedia  by  Dr.  Krauth. 


44  INTRODtrCTlON  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

borg,  and  among  the  Quakers  and  Swedenborgians. 
There  is  a  pure  internalism  to  which  the  name  Mysti- 
cism is  sometimes  given,  which  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  it  as  we  here  use  the  term. 

4.  The  fourth  perversion  of  religion  rises  from  the 
suppression  of  the  consciousness  of  God  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  world.  This  looks  so  steadily  at  the 
work  that  it  forgets  the  w^orker, — it  is  so  absorbed  in 
the  motion,  that  it  does  not  think  of  the  mover.  It  re- 
gards the  beautiful  harmony  of  the  world  as  if  it  were 
self -caused.  This  perversion  is  Atheism,  and  in  philos- 
ophy, Materialism.  Atheism  may  be  either  speculative 
or  practical ;  the  former  consists  in  denying  the  exist- 
ence of  God ;  the  latter  in  living  as  if  there  were  no  God. 

2.     Natural  and  Positive  Religion. 

Religion  is  divided  into  natural  and  positive.  When 
we  speak  of  Natural  Religion,  we  do  not  mean  precisely 
what  is  generally  called  ''The  Religion  of  Nature,"  nor 
the  philosophical  abstraction  of  English  Deism  since 
the  seventeenth  century.  We  mean  rather  the  religion 
correspondent  with  what  we  call  Natural  Theology.  The 
Religion  of  Nature  generally  means  a  system  developed 
in  professed  independence  of  Revelation  and  often  in  an- 
tagonism to  it.  It  is  the  religion,  for  the  most  part,  of 
infidels.  By  Natural  Religion  we  here  mean  those  prin- 
ciples which  are  involved  in  the  very  structure  of  human 
thinking,  the  psychological  basis  of  Positive  Religion. 
All  positive  religion  assumes  certain  things  as  fixed.  It 
does  not  prove  them,  but  accepts  them  and  builds  on 
them,  as  the  first  verse  of  the  Bible  takes  God  for 
granted  and  begins  with  his  work. 

Lord  Herbert  of  Cherhury  (1581—1648)  in  his 
work  De  Veritate  (1624)  lays  down  five  fundamental 
principles,  which  he  maintains  have  been  received  at  all 


DIVISIOKS  OF  RELIGION.  45 

times  and  in  all  places,  independent  of  revelation,  and 
which  are  sufficient  for  salvation.  These  five  proposi- 
tions are:  1.  There  is  a  God;  2.  The  Supreme  Being 
ought  to  be  worshiped;  3.  Virtue  and  Piety  are  the 
chief  parts  of  the  worship  of  God ;  4.  The  abhorrence 
of  what  is  criminal  ought  always  to  be  in  the  soul; 
5.  There  are  rewards  and  penalties  after  this  life.  —  It 
is  manifest  that  Lord  Herbert  has  borrowed  very 
largely  from  the  Revelation  he  proposed  to  supersede. 
The  work  of  Herbert  was  answered  in  1667  by  the 
great  divine,  John  Musaus  of  Jena,  in  his  Dissertation  on 
"  The  light  of  nature  and  the  Natural  Theology  which 
rests  on  it  are  insufficient  for  salvation."  Baier  in  his 
C ompend ^ ,  ioWowmg  Musaeus  says:  " Natural  Theol- 
ogy can  be  thus  defined :  It  is  a  practical  science,  drawn 
from  the  principles  of  nature,  concerning  God,  prescrib- 
ing to  man,  who  is  a  pilgrim,  a  w^orship  fitting  the  char- 
acter of  God,  and  explaining,  confirming,  and  defending 
it,  in  order  to  secure  that  eternal  blessedness,  which  is 
to  be  obtained  in  God  and  from  God."  Inasmuch  as  sin 
has  obscured  natural  religion,  it,  as  a  consequence,  is 
prevented  from  knowing  anything  of  that  propitiation 
which  sin  itself  has  made  necessary,  and  hence  Baier  in- 
fers that  natural  religion  is  insufficient  for  salvation. 

Positive  Religion,  in  accordance  with  the  new  usage 
of  language  subsequent  to  Kant  and  Schleiermacher,  is 
a  product  of  history,  rests  upon  the  institution  of  Relig- 
ion, and  appeals  for  its  doctrines  and  precepts  to  Divine 
authority,  and  has  its  truths  and  actuality  in  Chris- 
tianity.  

I.     Edition  of  Preuss,  1864.     P.  18. 


46         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

SECTION  IX. 

THE  ESSENTIAL  CHARACTER  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Christianit}^  is  the  personal  fellowship  of  sal- 
vation on  the  part  of  man  with  God,  in  the  Holy 
Qhost,  — a  fellowship  mediated  through  Jesus 
Christ,  and  hence  Christianity  embraces  whatever 
is  true  in  all  antecedent  religions. 

1.  The  Relation  of  Christianity  to  Heathenism  and  Judaism. 

According  to  Philippi  (1.4):  ''  Heathenism  seeks  but 
fails ;  Talmudic  Judaism  and  Mohammedanism  seeks 
but  disdains ;  the  Old  Testament  Judaism  has  sought 
and  has  not  yet  found,  moving  upon  the  right  path, 
but  not  attaining  to  the  goal ;  Christianity  alone  has 
found,  because  in  Christ  the  true  and  actual  fellowship 
of  man  with  God  has  been  founded  again." 

2.  The  Essential  Character  of  Christianity. 

This  lies  in  the  fellowship  of  salvation  with  God 
through  Jesus  Christ.  That  which  is  most  pecuHar  in 
Christianity  is  the  attitude  taken  by  the  Person  of 
Christ,  not  as  an  idea  simplj^  but  a  fact,  —  God  and 
man  in  personal  unity.  Our  Lord  is  not  merely  the 
founder  of  Religion,  but  is  the  subject  and  center  of  it. 
What  Christ  was  is  more  completely  essential  to  Chris- 
tianity than  what  he  taught. 

3.  The  historical  modes  of  apprehending  the  essential  character 
of  Christianity. 

The  Greek  Church  regarded  the  manifestation  of  the 
Logos  as  the  absolute  divine  reason,  and  hence  it  con- 
ceived of  Christianity  as  the  true  Philosophy.  The 
Roman  Catholic  Church  laid  stress  upon  the  churchly 
organism,  as  containing  the  truth  and  the  life-control- 
ling power.  The  Reformation  proceeds  from  the  sinner's 
need  of  salvation  and  places  the  essential  character  of 


ANTITHESIS  OF  ROMANISM  AND  PROTESTANTISM.  47 

Christianity  in  salvation  through  justification  by  faith 
alone :  solus  Christus,  sola  fides. 

4.     Christianity  is  the  true  Religion, 

That  Christianity  is  the  true  religion  can  be  proved : 
1)  by  the  history  of  the  different  religions,  comparing  it 
with  the  other  so-called  religions ;  2)  psychologically, 
as  it  alone  can  satisfy  the  deepest  want  of  man  and 
bring  peace  to  his  soul;  3)  practically,  because  it  alone 
furnishes  the  power  by  God's  grace  of  perfecting  holi- 
ness in  the  Church,  and  in  the  heart  of  the  individual. 

SECTION  X. 

THE   ANTITHESIS    OF  ROMANISM  AND   PROTESTANTISM. 

Romanism  makes  the  truth  dependent  on  the 
guarantees  of  the  Cliurch,  hierarchically  consti- 
tuted, i.  e,,  the  Roman  Church,  and  thus  exalts 
ecclesiastical  legitimacy  to  the  principle  which 
alone  is  decisive.  Protestantism  contemplates 
the  essence  of  Christianity  in  the  truth  of  salva- 
tion by  the  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  alone, 
of  which  truth  the  Holy  Scriptures  give  witness 
with  a  normative  authority,  the  Church  only  with 
conditional  authority.  The  Christian  is  to  attain 
an  individual  assurance  of  this  truth. 

I.     False  or  at  least  inadequate  explanations. 

The  opposition  of  Protestantism  and  Romanism  has 
often  been  explained  in  a  manner  either  totally  false  or 
entirely  inadequate.  The  opposition  has  been  made  to 
result  from  purely  external,  natural  and  even  fortuitous 
diversities,— from  the  ardent  imagination  of  the  South 
and  the  cool  reflectiveness  of  the  North.  The  attempt 
has  also  been  made  to  reduce  it  to  formal  categories, 
such  as  authority,  freedom,  and  the  like. 


48  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

2.  The  general  statement  of  the  Antithesis. 

ScHLEiERMACHERi  says  :  ''  Protestantism  makes  the 
relation  of  the  individual  to  the  Church  dependent  on 
his  relation  to  Christ ;  Catholicism  makes  the  relation 
of  the  individual  to  Christ  to  depend  on  his  relation 
to  the  Church."  Twesten^  says:  ''The  Catholic  doc- 
trine holds  more  firmly  to  the  first,  Protestantism  more 
firmly  to  the  second  part  of  the  utterance  of  Irenasus, 
'  Where  the  Church  is,  there  is  also  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
where  the  Spirit  of  God  is,  there  is  the  Church  and  all 
grace.'"  Moehler"^  {d,  1838,  Roman  Catholic)  says: 
"Catholic  doctrine  considers  the  visible  Church  as  the 
prius,  the  first  thing,  the  invisible  Church  as  the  post- 
er/ns,  the  second  thing;  the  Protestant  Church  con- 
siders the  invisible  as  the  prius  and  the  visible  as 
the posterius.''  Martensen*  says:  "Catholicism  has 
developed  itself  into  a  great  system  o^ guarantees  of 
Christianity ;  but  Christianity,  the  thing  itself,  which 
was  thus  to  be  guaranteed,  has  been  thrown  into  the 
the  shade.  The  opposition  between  genuine  and  spuri- 
ous Christianity  has  been  gradually  reduced  to  the 
affirmation  and  the  negation  of  the  validity  of  these 
guarantees.  To  attack  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  and 
of  the  Church  is  the  prime  heresy." 

3.  The  essential  character  of  Romanism. 

The  essential  character  of  Romanism  is  the  iden- 
tifying of  Christianity  with  that  outward  hierarchical 
Church  which  culminates  in  the  primacy  of  the  Bishop 
of  Rome,  the  Church,  the  organism  of  which  claims  to  be 
inspired,  the  infallible  bearer  and  guarantee  of  the  truth, 

1.  Glaubenslehre  I,  §  24. 

2.  In  his  Dogmatics  I,  p.  74. 

3.  See  his  Symbolik^  p,  425  ff.  Seventh  edition,  1864.  The  sixth  German 
edition  (1843)  was  translated  into  English.  2  vols.  London,  1843.  A  work 
vi'orthy  of  careful  examination. 

4.  Compare  his  Christian  Dogmatics^  p.  30  (English  Translation). 


ANTITHESIS  OF  ROMANISM   AND  PROTESTANTISM.  41) 

—  to  be  subject  to  which,  therefore,  is  the  siapremest  duty 
of  the  Christian. 

The  Church  is,  therefore,  by  necessary  consequence,  a 
visible  and  palpable  state,  the  vicar  of  Christ,  represent- 
ing his  three  offices  of  Prophet,  Priest  and  King,  the 
continuation  of  his  Incarnation,  the  mediatrix  of  salva- 
tion. It  divides  itself  into  the  Church  teaching  and  the 
Church  hearing,  the  Church  commanding Sind  the  Church 
obeying.  Its  essence  is  of  a  legal,  not  of  an  evangeUcal 
kind.  It  is  to  the  individual  the  supremest  judicial  and 
saving  authority;  obedience  to  it  is  so  unconditional 
that  there  can  be  no  justification  or  an  assurance  of 
faith  and  of  the  Christian  conscience  resting  in  the  Word 
of  God,  over  against  this  Church  (Luthardt) . 

So  in  substance  also  Martensen  (pp.  25—30) :  "  The 
Catholic  Church  holds  to  a  living  apostolate  in  the 
Church,  perpetuating  itself  through  all  time  — an  inspi- 
ration constantly  kept  up  in  the  representatives  of  the 
Church.  She  claims  to  possess  in  the  decisions  of  the 
councils  and  of  the  pope  a  divine  utterance  invested 
with  apostolic  authority,  as  infallible  as  the  word  of  the 
first  apostles  which  was  spoken  in  the  world ;  and  she 
claims  to  have  in  these  decrees  the  infallible  interpreta- 
tion, an  infallible  continuation,  of  that  apostolic  word." 
....  ''The  Catholic  Church  for  the  most  part  regards 
faith  as  a  new  law,  and  Christ  as  a  new  lawgiver." 

4.     Romanism  criticized. 

The  antithesis  of  Protestantism  consequently  con- 
sists primarily  in  the  results  which  are  reached  by  the 
overthrow  of  the  theory  just  characterized.  Boniface 
YIII  says:  "To  be  subject  to  the  Pope  of  Rome,  we 
declare,  say,  and  define,  to  be  altogether  necessary  to 
salvation,  on  the  part  of  every  human  creature."  Pek- 
RONE,  the  most  distinguished  Roman  Dogmatician  of 


50  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

this  century  {cl  1876),  whose  system  of  Dogmatics  is 
now  most  widely  used  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  which  comes  up  most  fully  to  its  standard  of  or- 
thodoxy, says:  ''Outside  of  or  beyond  the  Catholic 
Church  (i.  e.,  the  Roman  Church)  there  is  no  salvation." 

1)  Over  against  the  identifying  of  the  true  Catholic 
or  Universal  Church  with  the  Church  of  Rome,  on  which 
all  these  claims  to  supremacy  rest,  together  with  the 
right  of  putting  heretics  to  death.  Protestantism  main- 
tains that  the  Catholic  or  Universal  Church  exists  also 
outside  of  the  Roman  Church,  and  that  the  utmost  she 
can  claim  is  that  within  her  bounds  are  some  members 
of  that  one  Holy  Catholic  or  Christian  Church,  which  is 
the  Communion  of  Saints,  and  that  in  it  alone  her 
members  can  find  salvation. 

2)  The  Roman  Church  lays  claim  to  Inspiration  and 
Infallibility.  Moehler  says:  "The  Church  must  be 
without  error,  for  the  believer  who  commits  himself  to 
her  dare  not  be  led  astray." 

Over  against  this.  Protestantism  shows  that  there 
are  heresies  of  the  Bishops  of  Rome,  which  Romanists 
themselves  are  constrained  to  acknowledge.  Thus,  for 
example.  Pope  Liberius  in  358  set  forth  an  heretic  creed 
and  condemnation  of  Athanasius ;  Pope  Honorius  I  {d. 
638)  maintained  Monotheletism,  and  was  condemned 
by  the  sixth  oecumenical  Council  held  at  Constantin- 
ople (681),  as  one  possessed  by  demons,  who  sowed  the 
seed  of  pernicious  heresies,  and  he  was  excommunicated, 
and  his  successor  on  the  papal  throne  confirmed  the 
decree  of  the  Council.  Another  great  historical  fact, 
overthrowing  such  claims,  is  the  schism  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  rival  Popes,  and  the  conflict  with  the  general 
Councils  of  that  century, with  the  Popes,  and  with  each 
other.  The  history  of  the  Council  of  Trent  (1545— 1563), 


BY    THE    SAME    AUTHOR. 


Theological  Encyclopaedia  and  MetMology. 

Based   on   HAGENBACH  and   KKAUTH. 


Part  I.    Exegetical   Theology. 


By  KEVERE  franklin  WEIDNER,  M.  A., 

Professor  of  TheoW^--tn^teficst(rrm^^ftmtogtcbf^  Island,  111 


F.  H,  REVELL,  148  and  150  Madison  Street,  Chicagro. 

"  This  work  bears  testimony  of  the  author's  fitness  for  the  important  under- 
taking- of  giving-  the  Eng-lish  Church  a  safe  Encyclopedia  of  Theolog-y."— Ou/- 
Church  Paper. 

"  This  work  will  be  a  valuable  aid  to  the  pastor,  the  students  in  the  theo- 
logical seminary,  and  to  those  who  may  be  prosecuting  the  study  of  theology 
without  the  living  teacher."— r/ie  National  Baptist,  Philadelphia. 

"It  is  rich  in  its  literature  of  the  topics  of  which  it  treats,  and  thus  will  be 
of  special  value  to  theological  students.    On  the  points  of  recent  agitation,  the 

author  is  pronouncedly  orthodox The  author  has  mastered  his  subject, 

and  is  clear  and  compact  in  his  statements."— Presbyterian  Journal,  Pliiladelphia. 

•'  Exegetical  Theology  is  the  first  volume  of  a  series  which  promises  to  be 

of  marked  value  to  many  readers The  work  is  a  marvel  of  suggestive- 

ness,  while  its  complete  lists  of  the  best  works  on  each  subject  mentioned  are 
alone  worth  the  price  of  the  book.  We  shall  look  for  the  remaining  volumes 
with  interest."— T/ie  Interior,  of  Chicago. 

"  Professor  Weidner's  book  will  not  only  prove  very  serWceable  to  theolog- 
ical students,  in  giving  them  a  summary  presentation  of  the  subjects  embraced 
in  it,  but  it  will  be  of  great  value  to  all  ministers  who  study,  in  that  it  gives 
under  each  head  the  most  important  books  on  this  subject,  and  these  lists  are 
brought  down  to  the  most  recent  publications."— 27!c  Lutheran,  Philadelphia, 

"■  It  implies  on  the  part  of  the  author  a  wide  knowledge  of  books,  and  evi- 
dence of  this  abounds  in  the  volume.  It  is,  of  course,  not  meant  for  continu- 
ous perusal,  but  for  students— for  those  who  want  to  scan  the  whole  field  ot 
theology  and  to  mark  the  divisions  thereof.  For  this  class  this  book  will  be 
found  useful,  and  for  any  one  who  wishes  to  know  where  a  peculiar  question 
is  discussed,  the  volume  will  be  very  useful."— T/fe  Presbyterian,  Philadelphia. 


52  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

faith.  The  history  of  the  origin  of  the  name  Protestant 
(1529  at  the  Diet  of  Spires)  shows  that  it  was  more 
than  this.  Its  essence  supremely  consists  in  the  position 
on  which  that  protest  rests.  It  answers  the  question 
put  to  the  sinner  who  yearns  for  salvation,  answers 
with  the  truth,  that  salvation  is  in  Christ  alone,  "  solus 
Christus,  sola  gratia,'^  Christ  the  onlj^  one,  grace  the 
only  thing.  Subjectively  stated,  this  is  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  iaith  alone.  This  is  the  material  prin- 
ciple of  Protestantism,  i.  e.,  it  forms  the  great  central 
matter  about  which  it  gathers. 

The  question  now  arises  :  By  what  principle  of  cogni- 
tion does  Protestantism  reach  this  principle  in  results  ? 
The  answer  is,  on  the  grounds  that  the  only  secure,  au- 
thentic, and  consequently,  absolutely  authoritative  wit- 
ness in  regard  to  this  salvation  of  Christ,  is  given  in  the 
Scriptures  and  nowhere  else.  This  is  the  formal  princi- 
ple of  Protestantism,  i.  e.,  that  which  pertains  to  the 
form,  shape,  or  manner,  in  which  the  matter  or  material 
principle  is  reached. 

We  ask,  what  comes,  what  is  the  matter  that  comes  ? 
The  answer  is,  Christ,  faith,  justification,  is  the  matter. 
We  ask,  in  what  form  and  how  it  comes?  The  answer 
is,  in  revelation.  When  the  formal  principle  of  Protes- 
tantism is  asserted  without  its  material  principle,  it 
runs  into  Sectarianism,  Negativism,  Rationalism  and 
Pseudo-pro testant  heresy  in  general.  The  assertion  of 
the  /brma/ principle,  without  reaching  the  material -prin- 
ciple  of  Protestantism,  may  run  out  into  abuses  which 
genuine  Protestantism  would  consider  worse  than  Ro- 
manism itself.  No  men  assert  the  formal  principle  of 
Protestantism  more  vigorously,  and  indeed  with  the 
claim  that  they  alone  assert  it  consistently,  than  the 
very  men  who  use  the  /oriTia/ principle  to  overthrow  the 


ANTITHESIS  OF  ROMANISM  AND  PROTESTANTISM.  53 

material,  men  who  abuse  the  rule  of  faith,  to  undermine 
faith  itself. 

The  material  principle  is  the  end,  the  formal  principle 
is  the  means,  and  it  is  the  end  alone  which  gives  value 
to  the  means.  The  man  who  so  uses  his  Bible  as  to  fail 
to  reach  its  material,  i.  e.,  its  faith,  is  worse  off  than  if 
he  never  had  opened  the  Bible,  and  the  sincere,  ignorant, 
deluded  Romanist  will  rise  up  in  judgment  against  him. 

When  as  Lutherans  we  call  ourselves  Protest  ant  s,wg 
use  a  name  which  belonged  exclusively  to  us  originally, 
and  it  continued  to  be  the  diplomatic  name  of  our 
Church  till  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  1648,  — and  in  fact, 
in  European  usage,  is  to  a  large  extent,  still  confined  to 
our  Church.  We  are  Protestants  in  the  historical  sense 
of  thew^ord  in  which  it  asserts  not  a  mere  negation  of  a 
false  rule  of  faith,  nor  the  mere  theoretical  acceptance  of 
a  true  rule  of  faith,  but  two  conjoining  things,— the 
formal  rule  of  the  faith  and  the  material  faith  of  the 
rule.  This  is  the  Protestantism  we  defend  over  against 
the  Church  of  Rome.  This  is  the  only  Protestantism 
that  can  successfully  be  so  defended,  and  the  argument 
of  Rome  over  against  a  great  deal  that  calls  itself  Pro- 
testantism is  as  much  our  argument  as  hers^.  On  the 
most  vital  points,  the  very  center  of  the  life  of  Chris- 
tianity, such  as  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  of  the  true 
Deity  of  Christ,  of  the  Incarnation,  the  Atonement,  the 
objective  character  of  the  two  Sacraments,  true  Prot- 
estantism stands  with  Romanism,  or  rather,  with  the 
Church  Universal,  over  against  the  spurious  systems 
which  call  themselves  Protestant,  but  which  are  erro- 

I.  In  the  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent  (1545—1563),  in  which  the  so-called 
Protestant  views  are  condemned,  the  Protestant  doctrines  are  almost  always  pre- 
sented in  an  exaggerated  form,  and  mixed  up  with  real  heresies,  which  true  Pro- 
testantism condemns  as  emphatically  as  the  Church  of  Rome. 


54  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

neous  in  various  degrees,  till  they  sink  in  their  lowest 
grade  to  what  is  essentially  Pagan. 

Martenseni  says:  ''Inasmuch  as  both  confessions 
(Catholic  and  Protestant)  profess  a  general  belief  in 
God  as  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ;  inasmuch  as  both 
reject  the  ancient  and  modern  forms  of  Naturalism  and 
Rationalism,  both  recognize  the  truth  that  the  Chris- 
tian Church  rests  upon  a  Divine  Word,  derived  from  the 
Founder  himself,  and  delivered  to  the  Church  through 
the  apostles.  For  it  is  only  through  the  apostles  that 
we  have  received  Christianity,  and  that  Christianity 
only  is  genuine,  which  can  show  itself  to  be  apostolic. 
The  difference  between  the  confessions  does  not  consist 
merely  in  the  difference  of  the  relation  which  they  assign 
to  the  oral  and  written  word  of  the  apostles  (tradition 
and  Scripture),  but  in  their  different  views  respecting 
the  scope  of  the  apostolate.  The  Catholic  Church  holds 
to  a  living  apostolate  in  the  Church,  perpetuating  itself 
through  all  time,  —  an  inspiration  constantly  kept  up  in 
the  representatives  of  the  Church The  Evange- 
lical Lutheran  Church,  like  the  Catholic,  confesses  that 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  with  the  Church  unto  the  end 
of  the  world,  leading  it  into  all  truth ;  but  that  perfect 
union  of  the  Spirit  of  God  and  man,  which  is  called  In- 
spiration, and  which  constitutes  the  essence  of  the  apos- 
tolate, it  assigns  exclusively  to  the  beginning  of  the 
Church,  to  the  period  of  its  foundation ;  and,  although 
it  admits  the  relative  validity  of  tradition,  it  yet  regards 
the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  as  the  only 
perfect,  authentic,  and  absolutely  canonical  expression 
of  the  original  fulness  of  the  apostolic  spirit. 

But  the  difference  here  indicated  rests  on  another 
which  lies  still  deeper— a  difference  in  the  conception  of 


I.     See  his  Dogmatics^  %  20,  pp.  25,  26. 


ANTITHESIS  OF  ROMANISM  AND  PROTESTANTISM.  55 

the  essential  character  of  Christianity  itself.  The  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Church  views  Christianity  as  a  Gospel; 
as  glad  tidings  of  the  new  life  and  the  new  creation  in 
Christ,  offered  to  men  as  a  free  gift  of  heavenly  grace ; 
whereas  the  Catholic  Church  for  the  most  part  regards 
faith  as  a  new  law,  and  Christ  as  a  new  lawgiver,  repre- 
senting the  Gospel  merely  as  an  external  authority  to 
which  the  believer  must  yield." 

Again  1  :  '^  It  has  often  been  said  that  the  principle  of 
Protestantism  is  that  of  subjectivity — a  proposition 
which,  expressed  in  this  indefinite,  general  form,  is  liable 
to  misconception.  The  aim  of  the  Reformation  was  as 
much  to  regain  objective  Christianity,  to  separate  the 
true  tradition  from  the  false  or  at  least  human  tradi- 
tions, as  to  revive  subjective,  personal  Christianity. 
What  the  Reformation  desired  was  neither  exclusively 
the  objective  nor  the  subjective;  it  was  the  free  union  of 
the  objective  and  subjective,  of  the  thing  believed,  and 
the  person  believing,  of  divine  revelation  and  the  religi- 
ous self-consciousness.  This  free  union  of  the  objective 
and  the  subjective  the  Evangelical  Church  claims  to 
have  secured  through  its  so-called  formal  and  material 
principles,  which  express  the  two  sides,  the  objective 
and  the  subjective  side,  of  the  same  truth.  By  the  term 
formal  principle,  is  meant  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the 
only  source  of  doctrine;  by  the  term  material  principle, 
is  meant  justification  by  faith.  On  a  correct  apprehen- 
sion of  these  principles,  often  misunderstood  and  often 
feebly  stated,  depends  a  correct  understanding  of  Prot- 
estantism." 

Martensen  further  remarks 2 :  ''Where  there  is  free- 
dom, there  are  also  abuses  of  freedom.    The  Roman 

1.  Dogmatics^  %  21,  pp.  30,  31. 

2.  See  §  24,  pp.  48,  49. 


56  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Church  seemingly  knows  of  no  such  state  of  disintegra- 
tion and  confusion  as  do  the  Protestant  Churches.  The 
principle  of  authority  throws  a  veil  over  the  secret  ini- 
quity, the  secret  unbelief  and  doubt,  that  shelter  them- 
selves within  the  Church  under  the  forms  of  external 
acquiescence. 

In  the  Protestant  Churches,  on  the  contrary,  all 
these  defects  are  manifest.  Many  members  of  the  Pro- 
testant Churches,  weary  of  the  abuses  of  the  principles 
of  freedom,  are  seized  with  a  longing  for  a  tradition 
which  shall  have  absolute  authority.  This  security  they 
seek  sometimes  in  the  consensus  of  the  first  three  cen- 
turies, sometimes  of  the  first  five  or  six  centuries.  'A 
Catholic  current'  says  Geiger  (d.  1843),  'is  passing 
through  the  world.'  This  Catholic  current  will  become 
more  and  more  noticeable,  the  nearer  the  time  of  the 
great  religious  movements  and  crises  approaches.  But 
to  lay  down  a  tradition  which  shall  make  superfluous 
all  internal  struggles  for  freedom  is  impossible.  The 
various  manifestations  of  sympathy  with  Romanism, 
exhibited  of  late,  may  be  of  use  in  awakening  what  in 
many  has  been  slumbering,  viz.,  an  appreciation  of  the 
importance  of  the  Church  and  what  has  been  handed 
down  in  the  Church,  as  the  natural  connecting  link 
between  faith  and  the  Bible.  But,  whenever  these  sym- 
pathies have  turned  in  antipathy  to  the  principles  and 
inmost  essence  of  the  Reformation,  they  lead,  as  various 
facts  have  within  a  few  years  shown,  to  Rome,  and  to 
a  repose  in  the  spurious  guarantees  there  offered." 

In  this  connection  Dr.  Krauth  remarks ^  :  '*  If  it  be 
true,  as  Geiger  says,  '  that  a  Catholic  current  is  passing 
through  the  world,'  it  is  no  less  true,  that  under  this 
current,  at  the  surface,  there  is  a  deep  swell  of  Protes- 

l.     See  his  Manuscript  Lectures. 


ANTITHESIS  OF  ROMANISM   AND  PROTESTANTISM.  57 

tantism  which  is  upheaving  Romanism  itself,  and  para- 
doxical as  it  may  seem,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  state  our 
conviction,  that  the  current  of  Catholicism  is  set  in  mo- 
tion by  the  current  of  Protestantism.  How  else  can  we 
account  for  it,  that  just  in  the  most  thoroughly  prot- 
estant  of  protestant  countries,  England  and  the  United 
States,  the  tendency  shows  itself  most  strongly,  and 
next  to  these  countries,  in  the  most  intensely  protestant 
parts  of  Germany.  Protestantism  is  so  essentially  a 
quickener,  that  it  whips  into  activity  its  own  antagon- 
its.  It  is  so  scientific,  that  it  teaches  its  enemies  ;  it  is 
so  progressive,  that  it  sets  even  false  conservatism  *in 
motion.  Hence  we  see  the  anomaly,  that  in  Italy,  the 
most  Romish  of  countries,  Romanism  is  torpid,  ig- 
norant, and  so  hampered  with  its  own  traditionary 
abuses,  that  it  is  at  once  powerless  and  detested,  while 
in  the  United  States  it  is  vigorous,  decisive,  aggressive 
and  prosperous.  The  secret  of  it  is,  that  Romanism  is 
compelled  to  be  protestantized,  as  far  as  its  nature 
allows,  and  its  greatest  defenders  in  our  own  times, 
have  defended  it  with  the  stolen  weapons  of  Protestant 
science,  and  the  thing  they  defend  is  Romanism  purified 
of  some  of  its  worst  features  by  the  mighty  work  of 
Protestant  ideas.  The  Reformation  did  not  carry  out 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  the  entire  reformatory  tendency. 
As  the  Reformation  was  the  result  of  tendencies  which 
grew  within  the  Church  of  the  West,  side  by  side  with 
Papacy,  so  did  the  leaven  which  revealed  itself  in  it,  still 
in  some  measure  remain  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Two 
tendencies  have  worked  without  interruption  within  the 
Romish  Church  ever  since.  We  see  their  struggles  at  the 
council  of  Trent,  we  see  it  in  the  conflicts  of  the  Jansen- 
ists  and  Jesuits,  we  see  it  in  Ultramontanism  and  its  an- 
tagonistic force ;  we  see  it  in  noble  men  who  in  time  of 


58  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

apostasy  of  nominal  Protestants  in  the  great  rational- 
istic defection,  gave  illustration  of  the  truth  that  even 
in  Rome  God  preserves  his  witnesses.  The  Church  of 
Rome  is  destined,  we  believe,  in  the  flight  of  ages,  for 
one  of  two  consummations.  She  is  destined  either  by 
the  grace  of  God  to  purge  off  her  corruption  as  a  body, 
and  thus  give  historic  completeness  to  the  Reformation ; 
or  to  see  a  second  schism  produced  by  her  own  obsti- 
nacy, which  will  again,  as  in  the  sixteenth  century,  rob 
her  of  her  noblest  children  and  her  most  glorious  lands." 


SECTION  XI. 

LUTHERAN  PROTESTANTISM. 

The  nmterial  principle  of  Lutheran  Prot- 
estantism is  the  saving  truth  of  Christianity  as 
it  lies  in  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith  alone.  The  formal  princij)le  is  the 
sole  authority  of  Holy  Scripture.  With  these  is 
connected  the  historic  testimony  of  the  Church 
as  the  living  witness  of  the  truth.  This  testimony 
is  united  with  the  material  and  formal  principle, 
and  the  resultant  of  the  union  is  the  individual 
Christian  assurance  of  faith. 

The  Protestantism  of  the  Keformed  or  Calvin- 
istic  Churches,  on  the  other  hand,  has  laid  as  its 
fundamental  doctrine,  the  absolute  and  sole  pri- 
mary causality  of  God,  and  holding  with  the 
Lutheran  Churh,  that  Holy  Scripture  alone  is 
normative,  has  yet  isolated  Scripture  from  the 
historic  development  of  the  Church  {lAithardt). 


Lutheran  protestantism.  59 

r.  The  distinction  between  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Protestant- 
ism. 

This  distinction  has,  in  recent  times,  been  stated  in 
manifold  ways.  Goebel,  Nitzsch,  and  Heppe  stated 
it  as  this :  In  Reformed  Protestantism  more  stress  is 
laid  on  the  intellect,  in  Lutheranism  on  the  emotions ; 
in  Reformed  Protestantism  the  formal  principle  is  pre- 
dominant, and  Scripture  is  regarded  more  as  the  ex- 
clusive source  of  doctrine ;  while  in  Lutheranism  the 
material  principle  rules,  and  the  formal  principle  is  re- 
garded more  as  merely  the  norm  of  the  doctrine  which 
grows  out  of  the  analogy  of  faith,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  pure  tradition  possesses  in  Lutheranism  a 
greater  validity,  i.  e.,  the  tradition  which  involves  the 
handing  down  of  truth  in  the  Church. 

While  the  Lutheran  Church  concedes  no  authority  to 
opinions  which  have  been  transmitted  from  generation 
to  generation,  it  values  them  as  witnesses  of  the  ob- 
vious and  true  sense  of  God's  Word.  That  Word  is  the 
sole  authority,  but  there  is  always  a  moral  weight  of 
presumption,  which  needs  to  be  distinctly  met  and 
accounted  for,  if  its  validity  be  denied  in  the  general 
understanding  of  that  Word  — the  impression  which  it 
made  at  the  beginning  and  has  made  through  all  time. 
The  Romish  tradition,  i.  e.,  the  authority  outside  of  the 
Word,  and  often  really  opposed  to  it,  our  Church  rejects  ; 
but  exegetical  tradition  and  the  doctrines  which  rest 
upon  it,if  they  bear  the  test  of  the  just  interpretation  of 
God's  Word,  our  Church  greatly  esteems ;  she  does  not 
believe  that  God  has  forsaken  his  Church,  that  for  ages 
together  there  has  been  no  witness  to  the  truth  in  her, 
—  that  would  be  to  acknowledge  that  the  gates  of  hell 
have  prevailed  against  her.  Whenever  a  new  interpre- 
tation, opposed  to  one  universally  received,  has  been 


60  iNTRODt^CTlON  tO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

oifered,  our  Church  has  regarded  it  as  necessary  for  the 
discoverer  or  inventor  of  the  view^,  not  only  to  shov^ 
that  it  is  as  probable  theoretically  as  the  older  one,  but 
that  it  is  more  probable  (Krauth). 

Herzog  says  :  ''  Lutheran  Protestantism  is  the  anti- 
thesis of  the  Judaism  of  the  Romish  Church,  w^hich  has 
imparted  to  her  doctrine  a  gnosticizing  tincture ;  the  Re- 
formed Protestantism -is  in  opposition  to  the  Paganism 
of  the  Church  of  Rome,  by  which  the  doctrine  obtained 
a  Judaizing,  ethical  character. ' '  Schweizer  says  :  ' '  Re- 
formed Protestantism  is  the  protestation  against  all 
deification  of  the  creature,  and  is,  consequently,  the  em- 
phasizing of  the  absoluteness  of  God  and  of  the  exclu- 
siveness  of  his  will ;  this  forms  its  material  principle, 
with  which  is  connected  its  positive  normal  principle, 
viz.,  the  exclusive  maintenance  of  Scripture  as  the  Rule 
of  faith."  In  a  similar  strain  Dorner  says :  "  The  mate- 
rial principle  of  Zwingli  is  the  glory  of  God ;  his  formal 
principle  is  the  Scripture,  but  accepted  in  such  a  sense  as 
to  make  the  internal  word  independent  of  the  external, 
and  so  as  to  deny  all  creaturely  causality  on  the  part  ot 
the  creature  in  salvation."  Baur  says :  *'  The  Reformed 
system  goes  from  above  downward,  the  Lutheran  from 
below  upward,  /.  e.,  the  one  begins  with  God  and  reasons 
out  and  down  to  man,  the  other  begins  with  man  and 
reasons  up  to  God."  On  the  other  hand  Schnecken- 
BURGER  says:  "The  distinction  between  the  systems 
consists,  not  in  the  predominance  of  theology  or  an- 
thropology, of  the  absolute  idea  of  God  or  of  the  subjec- 
tive consciousness  of  salvation,  but  in  the  diverse  form 
of  the  consciousness  of  salvation  itself,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  Reformed  theology  went  back  to  the  eternal 
decree ;  the  Lutheran  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  being 
satisfied  with  justification  by  faith."    Stahl  approx- 


LUTHERAN  PROTESTANTISM.  CI 

imating  more  closed  with  the  view  of  Schweizer,  finds  in 
the  "sole  causality,"  which  is  the  notion  of  the  God- 
head, the  controlling  principle  of  the  Reformed  doctrine, 
and  its  character  he  finds  in  the  mode  of  thinking,  which 
is  adverse  to  mysteries.  "  The  whole  Reformed  Church 
development  is,  on  the  one  side,  determined  by  this  im- 
pulse against  mysteries,  which  impulse  concedes  no  in- 
strumental distribution  of  grace,  (an  aspect  derived  from 
Zwingli) ;  on  the  other  side,  it  is  distinguished  by  the  evan- 
gelical theocratical  tendency,  the  glorifying  of  God  in 
the  congregation  (an  aspect  proceeding  from  Calvin)  ". 
Martensen  says:  "The  Sw^ss  Reformation  started 
primarily  from  the  formal  principle,  that  of  the  author- 
ity of  the  Scriptures ;  whereas  the  Lutheran  originated 
more  especially  in  the  material  principle,  in  the  depths 
of  the  Christian  consciousness,  in  an  experience  of  sin 

and  redemption." "  The  Lutheran  Reformation 

manifested  the  greatest  caution  in  regard  to  tradition, 
and  observed  the  principle  of  rejecting  nothing  that 
could  be  reconciled  with  Scripture ;  w^hereas  the  Swiss 
Reformation  introduced  in  many  respects  a  direct  op- 
position between  the  biblical  and  ecclesiastic,  and  in 
several  particulars  followed  the  principle  that  all  eccle- 
siastical institutions  should  be  rejected  unless  they 
could  be  deduced  from  the  letter  of  the  Bible."  .  .  ,  . 
"  The  Reformed  Church,  although  vigorously  protesting 
against  the  legal  Church  of  Rome,  is  nevertheless  in- 
fected with  the  legal  spirit,  w^hereas  the  germ  of  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Gospel  is  found  in  Lutheranism." 

LuTHARDT  says:  "All  these  diverse  definitions  in- 
volve the  common  theor^^  that  the  difference  between 
the  Churches  is  not  merely  an  external  one,  does  not 
turn  merely  upon  different  doctrines,  e.  g.,  the  doctrine 
of  the  Lord's   Supper,  but   is  a  difference  running  com- 


62  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

pletely  through  them,  a  difference  in  principle.  An  essen- 
tial element  of  the  difference  consists  in  the  momenta, 
or  elements,  of  the  Reformed  doctrine  reciprocally  con- 
ditioning each  other,  — on  the  one  side,  the  absolute 
causality  and  sole  primary  causality  of  God,  which  ex- 
cludes the  means  of  grace  in  the  proper  sense ;  on  the 
other  side,  the  assurance  of  a  condition  of  salvation, 
grounded  in  an  inscrutable  decree,  an  assurance  reached 
by  the  individual's  actual  life  as  the  result  of  the  divine 
operation." 

2.  The  material  and  formal  principle  of  Lutheranism. 

This,  according  to  Dorner,  expressed  in  1841  and  in 
a  somewhat  different  shape  and  in  a  more  correct  one 
in  his  ''History  of  Protestant  Theology  "  in  1867,  is 
another  way  of  expressing  "the  distinction  between 
Christian  subjectivity  and  Christian  objectivity."  "The 
Scripture  presents  the  objective  original  Christianity"  ; 
"  the  material  principle  is  that  faith  in  which  the  truth, 
set  forth  in  Scripture,  obtains  a  free  internal  existence." 

"But,"  says  Luthardt,  "the  material  principle  is 
not  the  subjective  assurance  of  salvation,  or  the  con- 
sciousness of  faith,  or  anything  of  that  sort,  but  des- 
ignates the  actual  substance  of  the  salvation  itself,  a 
salvation  testified  of  in  Scripture,  acknowledged  by  the 
Church,  assured  to  believers  in  faith.  The  formal  prin- 
ciple, on  the  other  hand,  designates  the  authentic  wit- 
nessing of  salvation  as  it  has  actualized  itself  in  the 
historical  revelation,  and  is,  consequently,  the  norm  oi 
every  announcement  of  salvation  made  to  the  Church." 

3.  The  Material  Principle  of  Lutheranism, 

The  material  principle  of  our  Church  is  the  doctrine  01 
justification  by  faith  regarded  on  its  two  sides :  1)  That 
salvation  or  justification  is  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Media- 
tor; 2)  That  faith  is  the  way  of  salvation.    This  forms 


LUTHERAN  PROTESTANTISBI.  63 

the  soul  of  the  Lutheran  Confession,   and  may  be  ex- 
pressed indirectly  or  directly. 

1.  Indirectly.  It  may  be  expressed  either  in  the  ob- 
jective or  subjective  form.  In  the  indirect  objective  form 
the  statement  of  the  sole  mediatorship  or  sole  glory  of 
Christ  is  made  prominent.  Over  against  the  Romish 
doctrine,which  lessens  the  glory  of  Christ,  the  Apology 
says^  :  ''We  are  disputing  concerning  a  great  subject, 
concerning  the  honor  of  Christ,  and  whence  good  minds 
may  seek  for  sure  and  firm  consolation,  whether  it  is 
to  be  placed  in  confidence  in  Christ,  or  in  our  works  " 
(p.  109,  35).  Again :  "  The  adversaries  teach  that  men 
merit  the  remission  of  sins  by  love  to  God,  prior  to 
grace.  But  this  also  is  to  remove  'the  foundation,'  /.  e., 
Christ"  (p.  166,  21). 

In  the  indirect  subjective  form  the  statement  is,  that 
faith  is  the  only  possible  mode  of  appropriating  salva- 
tion. The  Apology  says :  "  The  promise  cannot  be  re- 
ceived, unless  by  faith"  (p.  92,  so);  "The  promise  of 
Christ  is  necessary.  But  this  cannot  be  received  except 
by  faith"  (p.  95,  to);  "For  the  promise  of  God's  mercy, 
reconciliation  and  love  towards  us,  is  not  apprehended 
unless  by  faith"  (p.  158,  seo);  "Christ  is  not  appre- 
hended as  a  Mediator,  except  by  faith.  Therefore,  by 
faith  alone  we  obtain  remission  of  sins, when  wg  comfort 
our  hearts  with  confidence  in  the  mercy  promised  for 
Christ's  sake  "  (p.  97,  s  o ) .  This  faith  is  defined  as  "  the 
special  faith  (by  which  an  individual  believes  that,  for 


I.  See  BooJi  of  Concord,  or  the  Symbolical  Books  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church,  with  Historical  Introduction,  Notes,  Appendices.  Indices.  Translated 
and  edited  by  Henry  E.  Jacobs,  D.  D.  2  vols.  Philadelphia,  1882—83.  We  al- 
ways quote  from  this  edition,  giving  paging  of  first  volume.  All  quotations  from 
A.  C.  (/'.  ^.,  Augsburg  Confession),  Apol.  (z".  <f.,  Apology),  Smal.  Art.  (t.  e.,  Smalcald 
Articles),  Smaller  or  Larger  Catechism,  and  F.  C  {i.  e.,  Formula  of  Concord),  ar^ 
from  this  edition, 


64  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Christ's  sake,  his  sins  are  remitted  him,  and,  that,  for 
Christ's  sake,  God  is  reconciled  and  propitious),  which 
obtains  remission  of  sins  and  justifies  us  "  (p.  91,  45 ). 

II.  Directly.  Directly  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  is  regarded  as  the  principal  and  fundamental  arti- 
cle. "It  is  necessary  that  the  chiefest  point  of  all  the 
Gospel  should  be  holden  fast,  that  we  do  freelj-  obtain 
grace,  by  faith  in  Christ"  (A.  C.^  xxviii,  p.  66,52); 
"Who  does  not  see  that  this  article,  that  by  faith  we 
obtain  remission  of  sins,  is  most  true,  most  certain, 
and  especially  necessary  to  all  Christians?"  {Apol.  p. 
160,  3  T. ) .  The  Smalcald  Articles  emphatically  say  : 
"Of  this  article  nothing  can  be  yielded  or  surrendered, 
even  though  heaven  and  earth  and  all  things  should 

sink  to  ruin And  upon   this   article   all  things 

depend,  which,  against  the  Pope,  the  devil  and  the  whole 
world,  we  teach  and  practice.  Therefore  we  must  be 
sure  concerning  this  doctrine,  and  not  doubt ;  for  other- 
wise all  is  lost,  and  the  Pope  and  devil  and  all  things 
against  us  gain  the  victory  and  suit"  {Book  of  Concord, 
p.  312,  O- 

Consequently  all  the  particular  doctrines  are  judged 
of  from  this,  as  the  central  point.  We  will  quote  a  few 
passages  from  the  Smalcald  Articles:  "It  (the  doc- 
trine of  the  Mass)  directly  and  powerfully  conflicts  with 
this  chief  article"  (p.  312,  313,  1);  "  For  it  (the  doc- 
trine of  purgatory)  conflicts  with  the  first  article  which 
teaches  that  only  Christ,  and  not  the  works  of  men,  can 
help  souls  "  (p.  314,  315,  12);  "  All  of  which  (the  grant- 
ing of  indulgences)  is  not  to  be  borne,  because  it  is 
without  the  word  of  God,  and  without  necessity,  and 
is  not  commanded,  but  conflicts  with  the  chief  article 
(p.  316,  24).    In  the  Formula  of  Concord  we  find  this 

?.    1  hat  is  A {u^^sdurg)  C(pn/ession). 


LUTHERAN  PROTESTANTISM.  65 

statement:  ''This  article  concerning  Justification  by 
Faith  is  the  chief  in  the  entire  Christian  doctrine,  with- 
out which  no  poor  conscience  has  any  firm  consolation, 
or  can  know  aright  the  riches  of  the  grace  of  Christ,  as 
Dr.  Luther  also  has  written  :  '  If  only  this  article  remain 
in  view  pure,  the  Christian  Church  also  remains  pure, 
and  is  harmonious  and  without  all  sects ;  but  if  it  do 
not  remain  pure,  it  is  not  possible  to  resist  any  error  or 
fanatical  spirit'"  (p.  571,  e). 

4.     The  Formal  Principle  of  Lutheranism. 

The  doctrine  of  the  exclusive  normative  authority  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  is  not  distinctly  expressed  in  a  dis- 
tinct article,  either  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  or  of  the 
Apology,  but  it  is  presupposed  throughout  and  is  in- 
deed actually  asserted  incidentally  in  various  places.    In 
the  Preface  to  the  Augsburg  Confession  we  read:  *' We 
now  oifer  in  the  matter  of  religion  this  Confession  .... 
the  doctrine  of  which  is   derived  from  the  Holy  Script- 
ures and  the  pure  Word  of  God  "  {Book  of  Concord,  p. 
34, 8).  In  the  Apology  it  is  laid  down  as  a  thing  beyond 
appeal  that  as  the  Scripture  does  not  teach  the  invoca- 
tion of  saints,  the  conscience  can  have  nothing  to  assure 
of  the  propriety  of  such  invocations,  and  the  question 
is  asked,  "How  do  we  know  that  God  approves  of  this 
invocation  ?  Whence  do  we  know  without  the  testimony 
of  Scripture,  that  the  saints  perceive  the  prayers  of  any- 
one ?  "     And  the  statement  is  made,   "since  the  invoca- 
tion does  not  have  a  testimony  from  God's  Word,  it 
cannot  be  affirmed  that  the  saints  perceive  our  invoca- 
cation  "  ;  "  there  ought  to  be  a  Word  of  God  "  {ApoL,  p. 
236,  11,  12  ;  p.  237,  n).  The  same  principle  is  distinctly 
asserted  in  the  Smalcald  Articles  {p.  315,  15) :  "It  is 
of  no  consequence  that  articles  of  faith  are  framed  from 
the  works  or  words  of  the  Holy  Fathers."  ....  "We 


fW  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY.  I 

have,  moreover,  another  rule,  viz.,  that  the  Word  of  , 
God  should  frame  articles  of  faith ;  otherwise  no  one,  \ 
not  even  an  angel."  ! 

Nowhere,  however,  is  the  formal  principle  more  dis-   ' 
tinctly  and  clearly  asserted  than  in  the  Introduction  to   \ 
the  Formula  of  Concord  (p.  491,  i ) :  '^  We  believe,  teach   < 
and  confess  that  the  only  rule  and  standard  according   ; 
to  which  at  once  all  dogmas  and  teachers  should  be   . 
esteemed  and  judged  are  nothing  else  than  the  prophetic 
and  apostolic  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament,  as  it  is   ; 
written  (Ps.  119  :  105) :  '  Thy  Word  is  a  lamp  unto  m^^ 
feet,  and  light  unto  my  path ' ;  and  St.  Paul  (Gal.  1:8):   ; 
'  Though  an  angel  from  heaven  should  preach  unto  you  j 
any  gospel  other  than  that  w^hich  w^e  preached  unto   ; 
3^ou,  let  him  be  anathema.'  "    At  the  close  of  this  same  ■ 
Introduction  (p.  492,  t)  it  says:  "The  Holy  Scriptures   | 
alone  remain  the  onlj^  judge,  rule,  and  standard,  accord- 
ing to  which,  as  the  only  test-stone,  all  dogmas  should   i 
and  must  be  discerned  and  judged,  as  to  whether  the3^  ; 
be  good  or  evil,  true  or  false."    In  the  Formula  of  Con-  . 
cord  {p.   535,  s)   the  Holy  Scriptures  are  called  '*the 
pure  and  clear  fountains,  which  are  the  only  true  stand- 
ard whereby  to  judge  all  teachers  and  doctrines." 

With  reference  to  the  relation  of  the  "Confessions"  '■ 
themselves  to  Scripture,  this  distinct  statement  is  made  i 
in  the  Introduction  to  the  Formula  of  Concord  {p.  \ 
491,  2) :  "  Other  writings,  of  ancient  and  modern  teach-  | 
ers,  whatever  reputation  they  may  have,  should  not  be  | 
regarded  as  of  equal  authority  with  the  Holy  Script-  I 
ures,  but  should  altogether  be  subordinated  to  them,  I 
and  should  not  be  received  other  or  further  than  as  wit-  j 
nesses,  in  what  manner  and  at  what  places,  since  the  | 
time  of  the  apostles,  the  purer  doctrine  of  the  prophets 
and  apostles  was  preserved."  | 


LUTHERAN  PROTESTANTISM.  6? 

5.     The  Historical  Character  of  Lutheran  Protestantism  1 . 

Lutheran  Protestantism  is  pre-eminently  historical. 
It  approves  of  the  connection  with  the  traditions  of  the 
Church,  i.e.,  of  the  visible  transmission  of  doctrines  and 
usages,  so  far  as  they  are  not  in  conflict  with  the  letter 
or  spirit  of  God's  Word.  Pseudo-Protestantism  starts 
practically  with  the  assumption  that  everything  in  the 
visible  Church,  both  of  doctrine  and  of  practice,  is  to  be 
regarded  as  wrong,  till  it  shall  be  proved  by  direct  testi- 
mony of  Scripture  to  be  right.  True  Protestantism,  /. 
e.,  Lutheran  Protestantism,  starts  on  the  assumption, 
that  everything  in  the  visible  Church,  both  of  doctrine 
and  of  practice,  is  to  be  regarded  as  right,  until  it  shall 
be  proved  by  testimony  of  Scripture,  or  by  sanctified 
reason,  to  be  wrong.  The  Augsburg  Confession  and 
Apology,  therefore,  frequently  present  the  testimony  of 
the  Church  {tota  ecclesia)  together  with  the  testimony 
of  Scripture,  and  seek  to  establish  the  harmony  of  the 
pro  test  ant  doctrine  with  the  scriptural  tradition,  or 
transmission  of  the  Church  universal,  and  of  the  pure 
Roman  Church  or  Western  division  of  the  Universal 
Church.  Thus  in  the  Augsburg  Confession,  at  the  close 
of  the  Doctrinal  Articles,  it  is  said :  "  This  is  about  the 
sum  of  doctrine  among  us,  in  which  can  be  seen  that 
there  is  nothing  which  is  discrepant  with  the  Scriptures, 
or  with  the  Church  Catholic,  or  even  with  the  Roman 
Church,  so  far  as  that  Church  is  known  from  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Fathers  "  {Book  of  Concord,  p.  47,  i ).  At 
the  close  of  the  Articles  on  Abuses  we  also  have  this 
statement:  '* These  things  have  been  enumerated  .  .  .  . 
that  it  might  be  understood,  that  in  doctrine  and  cere- 
monials among  us  there  is  nothing  received  contrary  to 
Scripture  or  to  the  Universal  Christian  Church,  inas- 


I.     Compare  Manuscript  Lecttires  of  Dr.  Krauth. 


68  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  TttEOLOQY. 

much  as  it  is  manifest  that  we  have  diligently  taken 
heed  that  no  new  and  godless  doctrines  should  creep 
into  our  Churches"  (p.  67,  5). 

In  consonance  with  this  it  is  said  ''the  Mass  is  re- 
tained still  among  us,  and  celebrated  with  great  rev- 
erence; yea,  and  almost  all  the  ceremonies  are  in  use" 
(A.  C.  xxiY.  p.  50.  1,2).  By  the  "  Mass  "  is  here  meant 
the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  or  the  Com- 
munion Service,  and  by  the  customary  ''ceremonies  in 
use ' '  are  meant  those  ceremonies  which  have  been  used 
in  the  Church.  Whenever,  over  against  the  corruption 
of  predominant  doctrinal  practice,  our  Church  receives 
the  scriptural  doctrine,  she  declares  that  in  this  she 
brings  forth  "nothing  new."  In  the  Apology  it  is  said : 
"For  this  reason,  our  preachers  have  diligently  taught 
concerning  these  subjects,  and  have  delivered  nothing 
that  is  new,  but  have  set  forth  Holy  Scripture  and  the 
judgment  of  the  Holy  Fathers  "  (p.  83,  5  0).  The  Cata- 
logue of  Testimonies  added  in  the  best  editions  of  our 
Symbolical  Books ^  to  Article  vm  of  the  Formula  01 
Concord,  shows  that  the  Christian  Church  has  contin- 
ually held  the  doctrine  set  forth  in  that  article. 

The  judgment  of  our  Church  in  regard  to  pure  trans- 
mission of  tradition  is  of  the  highest  importance.  It  is 
sustained  by  the  scripture  view  of  the  Church.  The 
Church  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth ;  she  is  as 
really  God's  work,  as  God's  Word  is,  and  as  the  defects 
of  particular  parts  of  the  Church  are  no  evidence  against 
the  infallibility  of  the  Word  of  God,  as  a  rule  of  faith,  so 
also  these  defects  are  no  evidence  against  the  infallibil- 
ity of  the  Church  of  God.  We  maintain  as  inflexibly  as 
the  Church  of  Rome  does,  the  infallibility  of  the  Church 
Catholic,  that  is  to  say,  we  hold  that  there  has  been 

I,     See  Bool  0/ Concord  (Jacobs).     Vol.  2,  //.  272— 29^. 


LUTHERAN  PROTESTANTISIif.  fi9 

and  always  will  be  upon  earth  a  commtinion  of  saints, 
in  which  the  pure  faith  which  makes  the  Christian 
foundation,  abides.  We  hold,  also,  that  there  never  has 
been  a  time,  when  in  every  part  of  the  visible  Church  a 
man  was  bound  in  conscience  to  false  doctrine,  — that 
even  in  the  Church  of  the  West,  the  Romish  Church  in 
her  darkest  hour,  — the  official  creeds  of  the  Church  to 
which  her  children  were  bound  in  conscience,  set  forth 
only  pure  truths.  When  Luther  grasped  the  great 
truths  out  of  which  the  Reformation  arose,  he  found 
and  grasped  them  in  the  creed  which  had  been  from 
time  immemorial  in  the  Church,  —  '*!  believe  in  the  for- 
giveness of  sins."  The  Reformers  within  the  Church  of 
Rome  set  forth  no  doctrine  which  they  could  not  con- 
scientiously, as  faithful  children  of  that  Church,  set 
forth.  When  we  now  take  up  the  Confessions  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  we  find,  that  until  the  Council  of 
Trent  (1545—63),  which  was  not  held  till  after  the  Re- 
formation was  established,  the  only  creeds  of  the  Church 
were  the  Apostles\  the  Nicene,  and  the  Athanasian 
Creeds,  to  which  our  Reformers  inflexibly  held.  Up  to 
the  time  of  the  Reformation  the  doctrine  confessed  in 
the  oecumenical  or  general  creeds  was  the  same  through- 
out the  Church  Catholic,  east  and  west.  The  Augsburg 
Confession  is  the  oldest  distinctive  creed  used  in  any 
large  portion  of  Christendom.  So  far  as  the  Roman  or 
Greek  Churches  have  creeds  older  than  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  they  set  forth  none  other  than  the  doctrines 
we  hold  in  common  with  them.  Luther  well  argues, 
then,  that  we  are  the  true  old  Church,  because  we  hold 
to  the  true  old  Creeds.  When  the  Augsburg  Confession 
was  set  forth  in  1530,  it  was  an  ampler  statement  and 
larger  development  of  the  same  old  doctrine  of  the 
Church.    We  do  not  contend  that  all  its  specifications 


70  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

are  in  the  older  creeds  any  more  than  we  pretend  that 
all  specifications  of  the  Nicene  Creed  are  in  th^  Apostles' 
Creed,  or  that  all  the  specifications  of  the  Athanasian 
are  in  the  Nicene.  But  the  Augsburg  Confession  is  a 
pure  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  Catholic, 
in  its  legitimate  development  for  more  than  fifteen  hun- 
dred years,  and  is  related  logically  to  the  purified  Prot- 
estantism of  the  sixteenth  century  as  the  Apostles'  and 
Nicene  Creeds  are  related  to  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the 
Middle  Ages. 

6.     The  Internal  Assurance  of  Salvation. 

The  truths  of  salvation  concerning  justification  by 
faith,  such  as  the  Holy  Scriptures  testify,  and  the  pure 
Church  of  all  ages  has  confessed,  are  sealed  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  internally  in  Christians,  especially  in  that  comfort 
of  conscience  which  the  Word  of  God  brings  with  it. 

This  element  is  made  very  prominent,  especially  in  the 
^po/o^j^,  where  the  thought  is  often  repeated  that  ''Jus- 
tification by  faith  "  brings  ''  a  sure  and  firm  consolation 
to  pious  minds."  In  Art.  lY.  {On  Justification)  we  read 
(p.  98, 8  5):  ''Wherefore  let  not  good  minds  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  forced  from  the  opinion,  that  we  receive  re- 
mission of  sins  for  Christ's  sake  only  through  faith.  In 
this,  they  have  sure  and  firm  consolation  against  the 
terrors  of  sin,  and  against  eternal  death,  and  against  all 
the  gates  of  hell."  Again  (p.  103,  in,  1 1 s) :  '*  We  have 
shown  with  sufficient  fulness,  both  from  testimonies  of 
Scripture,  and  arguments  derived  from  Scripture,  that 
by  faith  alone, we  obtain  the  remission  of  sins  for  Christ's 

sake,  and  that  by  faith  alone  we  are  justified But 

how  necessary  the  knowledge  of  this  faith  is,  can  be 
easily  judged,  because,  in  this  alone,  the  office  of  Christ 
is  recognized,  by  this  alone  we  receive  the  benefits  of 
Christ ;  this  alone  brings  sure  and  firm  consolation  to 


LUTHERAN  PROTESTANTISM.  71 

pious  minds.  And  in  the  Church  it  is  necessary  that 
there  should  be  doctrine,  from  which  the  pious  may  re- 
ceive the  sure  hope  of  salvation."  Again  in  Art.  vi.  {On 
Love  and  the  FuWHng  of  the  Law)  (p.  109,  35):  ''We 
are  disputing  concerning  a  great  subject,  concerning  the 
honor  of  Christ,  and  w^hence  good  minds  may  seek  for 
sure  and  firm  consolation,  v^hether  it  is  to  be  placed  in 
confidence  in  Christ,  or  in  our  works."  Again  (p. 
120,  96):  ''Conscience  cannot  be  pacified  before  God, 
unless  by  faith  alone,  which  is  certain  that  God  for 
Christ's  sake  is  reconciled  to  us  according  to  Rom.  5: 
1 :  '  Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace ; '  because 
justification  is  only  a  matter  freely  promised  for  Christ's 
sake,  and  therefore  is  always  received  before  God  by 
faith  alone."  And  so  in  many  other  places  in  the  Apo- 
logy. In  the  Smalcald  Articles  we  have  this  clear  testi- 
mony {p.  346,  44):  "The  doctrine  of  repentance  has 
been  utterly  corrupted  b^^  the  Pope  and  his  adherents. 
For  they  teach  that  sins  are  remitted  because  of  the 
worth  of  our  works.  Then  they  bid  us  doubt  whether 
the  remission  occur.  They  nowhere  teach  us  that  sins 
are  remitted  freely  for  Christ's  sake,  and  that  by  this 
faith  we  obtain  remission  of  sins.  Thus  they  obscure 
the  glory  of  Christ,  and  deprive  consciences  of  firm  con- 
solation, and  abolish  true  divine  services,  viz.,  the  exer- 
cises of  faith  struggling  with  unbelief  and  despair 
concerning  the  promise  of  the  Gospel." 

Here  belongs  also  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
which  is  an  internal  (personal)  assurance  of  salvation, 
wrought  in  the  believer  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  the 
Word. 


72  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

III.    THE  METHOD  OF  DOGMATICS. 
SECTION  XII. 

THE   FORMATION   OF  THE  DOGMATIC   SYSTEM. 

The  Material  Principle  of  Protestantism  in 
the  unity  of  its  objective  and  subjective  sides, 
forms  the  genetic  principle  of  the  unfolding  of 
the  Dogmatic  System,  and  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
as  the  original  record  of  the  revelation  of  sal- 
vation, forms  the  argumentative  proof  for  the 
single  statements  of  Dogmatics. 

I,     The  Material  Principle  of  Dogmatics. 

As  Dogmatics  is  designed  to  be  a  systematic  state- 
ment of  the  Christian  Faith,  it  must  genetically  unfold 
the  entire  Christian  Doctrine,  out  of  a  fundamental 
unity.  By  a  genetic  unfolding  we  mean  one  that  pre- 
sents the  process  of  originating,  the  natural  mode  of 
development,  in  which,  as  it  were,  the  secondary  truths 
grow  out  of  the  primary.  There  must  be  someone  germ, 
which  grows  and  expands  into  all  that  follows.  As  such 
a  genetic  principle,  Luther  designates  the  article  ofjus- 
tiBcation  by  faith  :  "In  it  we  have  the  sum  of  the  whole 
Christian  Doctrine  and  the  bright  and  lovely  sun, which 
illumines  the  Christian  communion.  If  this  article  be 
embraced  and  retained  with  a  sure  and  firm  faith,  all 
the  others  gradually  come  from  it  and  follow  it,  as  for 
example,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  and  others."  .  .  .  . 
"While  this  doctrine  stands,  the  Church  stands."  And 
the  meaning  of  Luther's  expression  that  it  is  "the  ar- 
ticle of  a  standing  or  falling  church,"  is,  that  while  this 
doctrine  stands,  the  Church  stands,  when  it  falls,  the 
Church  falls. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC  SYSTEM.  73 

The  Dogmaticians  subsequent  to  Luther  did  not  al- 
ways carry  out  this  thought  completely.  They  designate 
the  Scripture  as  the  only  principle  of  knowledge,  and  the 
later  Dogmaticians,  who  pursued  the  analytic  method, 
regarded  the  idea  of  salvation  as  a  controlling  point  of 
view,  but  beyond  this  regarded  the  analogy  or  rule  of 
faith,  only  as  a  material  canon. 

The  most  recent  Dogmaticians,  for  the  most  part, 
start  with  the  idea  of  fellowship  with  God  through 
Christ  (Thomasius,  Hofmann),  or  with  the  idea  of 
Atonement  (Philippi). 

LuTHARDT  says  :  The  material  principle  of  Dogmat- 
ics must  be  the  essence  of  Christianity  itself,  i.  e.,  the 
fellowship  with  God  through  Christ,which  is  actualized 
in  the  righteousness  of  faith  as  a  righteousness  of  life. 
This  material  principle  is  to  be  exhibited  in  accordance 
with  its  entire  contents  through  the  conjoined  opera- 
tion of  the  three  factors  of  Dogmatics  :  1)  The  Script- 
ures; 2)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Church;  3)  The  personal 
consciousness  of  faith. 

2.     The  Scriptures  as  the  Normative  factor  of  Dogmatics. 

The  Holy  Scriptures  as  the  normative  factor  in  the 
Dogmatic  System  imparts  to  it  its  biblical  character. 
Since  the  time  of  Gerhard  the  Dogmaticians  present  in 
their  Prolegomena,  the  complete  doctrine  of  Scripture, 
as  the  only  principle  by  which  we  become  cognizant  ot 
heavenly  truth.  Inspiration  forms  the  basis  for  the 
authority  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  witnesses  of  itself 
through  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  i.  e.,  the  in- 
ternal actual  assurance  which  the  matter  of  Scripture 
itself  imparts.  In  the  later  Dogmaticians  we  have  pre- 
sented in  place  of  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
credibility  of  the  authors.  In  this  way  all  attacks  upon 
the  Bible  become  in  their  actual  working,  attacks  upon 
religion  itself. 


74  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Lessing  appealed  to  the  self  assurance  ot  Christian 
experience.  Schleiermacher,  in  his  views,  follows 
Lessing,  inasmuch  as  he  makes  a  primary  point  of  the 
Christian's  internal  consciousness,  and  consequently 
does  not  treat  the  doctrine  of  Scripture  in  his  Prolego- 
mena, but  in  the  body  of  his  work,  in  which  he  says 
{Glhsl  §  128) :  ''  The  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
cannot  be  the  basis  of  faith  in  Christ ;  on  the  contrary, 
this  faith,  must  previously  exist  before  we  can  concede 
to  the  Holy  Scriptures  a  special  authority."  Twesten 
says  (I,  283) :  "  It  should  not  be  maintained  that  in  the 
Christian  consciousness,  faith  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  is 
that  foundation  which  is  fixed  in  itself  as  the  founda- 
tion of  all  other  convictions,  —  since  faith  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  is  rather  only  one  constituent  of  the  Chris- 
tian conviction,  which  is  to  be  apprehended  only  by 
faith,  and  just  as  much  requires  to  be  stayed  and  sup- 
ported by  the  other  doctrines,  as  they  require  to  be 
stayed  and  supported  by  it." 

A  system  of  Dogmatics  assumes  Scripture  and  its 
authority  as  matter  of  fact,  (just  as  it  takes  the  Church 
and  her  doctrines),  to  justify  both  within  its  system,  as 
it  does  the  other  facts  of  faith. 

3.     The  Canon  of  Scripture. 

The  body  of  the  sacred  writings  is  comprehended  in 
the  Canon,  and  hence  they  are  called  "the  Canonical 
Scriptures."  The  word  kanon  in  classical  Greek  meant 
1)  properly  a  straight  rod,  or  a  carpenter's  rule.  2)  Then 
a  testing  rule  in  ethics,  or  in  art,  or  language.  The  eccle- 
siastical usage  of  the  word  offers  a  complete  parallel 
to  the  classical.  In  the  New  Testament  it  occurs  four 
times  (Gal.  6:  16.  2  Cor.  10:  13—16).  In  the  first  pas- 
sage (Gal.  6  :  16)  it  is  used  in  its  literal  sense  of  rule,  and 
in  the  second  passage  the  change  from  an  active  to  a 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC  SYSTEM.  75 

passive  sense  is  worthy  of  notice.  In  patristic  writings 
the  word  is  commonly  used  both  as  ''a  rule"  in  the 
widest  sense,  and  especially  in  the  phrases  "the  rule  of 
the  Church,"  "the  rule  of  faith,"  "the  rule  of  truth."  In 
the  fourth  century,  when  the  practice  of  the  Church 
was  systematized,  the  decisions  of  synods  w^ere  styled 
"Canons."  As  applied  to  Scripture  the  derivatives  of 
the  word  Canon  are  used  long  before  the  simple  word. 
The  first  direct  application  of  the  term  kanon  to  the 
Scriptures  seems  to  be  b3^  Amphilochius,  bishop  of  Ico- 
nium,  a  contemporary  of  Gregory  of  Na^ianzus,  who 
concludes  his  v^ell-known  Catalogue  of  the  Scriptures 
(about  380  a.  d.),  with  the  words,  "this  will  be  the 
most  truthful  Canon  of  the  inspired  Scriptures."  Among 
Latin  writers  the  word  is  commonly  found  from  the 
time  of  Jerome  ^ 

a)  The  Old  Testament  Canon  ^.  The  formation  of  the 
Old  Testament  Canon  was  a  matter  of  internal  neces- 
sity when  the  Old  Testament  time  of  Revelation  came 
to  an  end.  According  to  the  Rabbinical  tradition  it 
was  the  work  of  Ezra  and  the  great  Synagogue.  It 
first  appears  as  a  finished  whole  in  the  prologue  to  the 
Greek  translation  of  the  Wisdom  of  Sirach  (Ecclesias- 
ticus),  the  date  of  which  is  somewhat  doubtful,  but  cer- 
tainly lies  between  250—130  b.  c.  Not  only  does  the 
prologue  expressly  refer  to  the  Old  Testament  according 
to  its  three  divisions,  "the  law  and  the  prophets,  and 

1.  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  use  of  the  word  Canon  see  Westcott's  Article 
on  the  Canon  in  Smith's  Bible  Diet.  (Amer.  Ed.,  4  vols.).  The  same  author  in  his 
work  On  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament  (Fifth  Ed„  1881),  in  Appendix  D  {pp ^ 
556,  557)  gives  the  original  text  of  the  Catalogue  of  Amphilochius. 

2.  Compare  Westcott's  Art.  on  Canon  in  Smith's  Bible  Diet,  already  cited 
(Vol.  I,  pp.  357—368),  a  most  valuable  summary  of  the  whole  subject;  also  the 
Article  in  Herzog's  Real-Eneykl.  (Ed.  I,  by  Oehler  ;  Ed.  II,  by  Strack)  ;  see  also 
Schaff-Herzog's  Encyel.ydi.  i,  pp.  385—389,  and  the  well-known  works  of  Bleek, 
Home  (Fourteenth  Ed.),  Keil  and  Reuss. 


If)  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

the  other  books  of  our  fathers,"  "the  rest  of  the  books," 
but  also  in  the  book  itself  it  is  manifestly  assumed  as  a 
thing  well  known.  The  definite  article,  '' tize  other  books 
of  the  fathers,"  and  ^^  the  rest  of  the  books,^^  presup- 
poses a  definite  class  of  writings  well  marked  off,  and 
involves  the  close  of  the  Canon. 

The  Canon  of  the  Old  Testament  lay  in  its  present 
compass  before  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles,  just  as  we 
have  the  enumeration  of  its  parts  in  Josephus  (40 — 100 
A.  D.).  In  his  book  Contra  Apion,  1,  8,  he  enumerates 
twenty-two  books  "which  are  justly  believed  to  be  in- 
spired." And  he  adds:  "  They  have  suffered  no  addi- 
tion, diminution,  or  change.  From  our  infancy  we  learn 
to  regard  them  as  decrees  of  God ;  we  observe  them,  and 
if  need  be,  we  gladly  die  for  them." 

In  the  New  Testament,  these  Old  Testament  writings 
are  regarded  as  one  complete  whole  as  in  John  5 :  39, 
"  Search  the  scriptures,^'  or  in  John  10 :  35,  "  The  script- 
ure cannot  he  broken.''  Matt.  23  :  35  and  Luke  11 :  51 
(''from  the  blood  of  Abel  unto  the  blood  ofZachariah,'' 
i.  e.,  from  Genesis  to  2  Chronicles)  are  a  witness  to  the 
arrangement  and  compass  of  our  present  Hebrew  Bible; 
Luke  24:  44  is  evidence  of  the  division  into  three  parts, 
**  the  law,"  "the  prophets,"  and  "the  psalms;"  2  Tim. 
3  :  15,  16  looks  to  the  fact  that  the  scriptures  were  col- 
lected together.  In  the  New  Testament,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  some  of  the  Minor  Prophets,  all  the  books  of  the 
"first"  and  "second"  division  are  cited.  From  the 
third  division,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  and  Daniel  are  cited. 
The  Old  Testament  Apocryphal  Books  are  never  cited 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  if  there  be  allusions  to  them, 
as  there  probably  are,  they  are  of  such  a  nature,  as  in 
no  degree  to  imply  a  recognition  of  them  as  inspired 
books.    Thus  in  Heb.  11 :  34,  35  it  has  been  claimed  (see 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC  SYSTEM.  77 

Stier's  Die  Apokryphen,  pp.  148,  1853,  who  professes 
to  find  102  references  in  the  New  Testament  to  the 
Apocryphal  Books  of  the  Old  Testament)  that  there  is 
an  allusion  to  the  times  of  the  Maccabees ;  but,  if  this 
be  granted,  it  simply,  at  the  most,  recognizes  the  histor- 
ical truth  of  a  statement,  and  involves  no  more  than 
St.  Paul's  quotations  of  the  Greek  poets.  From  a  care- 
ful study  of  all  the  evidence  there  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  the 
Jews  had  a  Canon  of  Sacred  Writings  distinctly  defined, 
and  that  this  Canon  was  recognized  by  the  Lord  and 
his  Apostles,  and  that  this  Canon  was  the  same  as  we 
now  have  in  our  Hebrew  Bibles,  and  accepted  by  all 
Protestant  Churches  as  the  Canonical  Books  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

The  authority  of  Augustine  occasioned  the  reception 
of  the  Old  Testament  Apocrypha  into  the  Canon,  by  the 
Council  of  Hippo,  393,  and  of  Carthage,  397,  but  there 
was  no  churchly  sanction  of  a  general  kind  to  this,  until 
the  Council  of  Trent,  in  its  fourth  session,  gave  it  its 
sanction.  But  the  establishment  of  the  Old  Testament 
Canon  properly  belongs  to  Israel,  not  to  the  Christian 
Church,  which  received  it  from  Israel.  We  find  the  true 
view  of  the  matter  therefore  in  Jerome,  who  limits  the 
Canon  to  the  Hebrew  writings,  as  these  alone  were  ac- 
cepted and  appealed  to,  by  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles. 

The  more  recent  critics  have  attempted  to  put  the 
book  of  Daniel  into  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
(175—164  B.  c),  an  era  which  had  lost  the  conscious- 
ness of  possessing  the  spirit  of  revelation  (1  Mace.  4: 
46 ;  9 :  27 ;  14 :  41) .  But  that  the  Book  of  Daniel  forms 
an  integral  part  of  the  Canon  is  clear,  1)  from  the  im- 
portance of  its  relation  to  the  New  Testament,  in  which 
it  is  fully  accepted  as  canonical  (Matt.  24 :  15) ;  2)  from 


78         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

its  wonderful  internal  witness,  its  prophecies,  many  of 
which  were  demonstrably  fulfilled  long  after  the  period 
ofAntiochns  Epiphanes,  and  many  of  which  are  now 
fulfilling;  3)  from  the  evidences  which  many  of  the  best, 
ripest  recent  scholars,  in  conjunction  with  the  older 
ones,  have  brought  to  show  that  there  is  no  reason  for 
departing  from  the  ancient  and  received  view  as  to  the 
time  of  its  origin ;  4)  the  latest  results  of  Assyriolog3^ 
and  the  evidence  of  the  monumental  remains,  all  con- 
firm those  statements  of  Danid  which  were  denied  by 
critics. 

b)  The  New  Testament  Canon  ^.  The  collection  of 
the  New  Testament  Canon  was  relatively  late  in  its 
origin,  and  slow  in  its  progress.  The  history  of  its 
formation  conveniently  divides  itself  into  three  periods : 
1.  The  era  of  the  separate  circulation  and  gradual  col- 
lection of  the  Apostolic  writings,  to  170  A.  d.  (There 
can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  at  the  close  of  this  period 
the  four  Gospels  occupied  the  position  which  they  have 
always  retained  as  the  fourfold  Apostolic  record  of  the 
Saviour's  ministry.  The  testimony  of  Justin  Martyr 
{d.  146?)  and  of  Papias  {ab.  150)  is  decisive.  For  the 
New  Testament  as  a  whole  we  have,  in  the  West,  the 
important  testimony  of  the  Muratorian  Canon,  and  in 
the  East,  the  Peshito.  From  a  careful  sifting  of  all  the 
evidence  it  seems  that  at  the  close  of  the  second  century, 
2  Peter  is  the  only  book  which  is  not  recognized  def- 

I.  Compare  Westcott's  Article  in  Smith's  Bi'b/e  Diet.  (Amer.  Ed.  4  vols.), 
vol.  I,  //.  368 — 376  ;  the  Article  in  Herzog's  Real-Encykl.  (Ed.  I,  by  Landerer  ; 
Ed.  II,  by  Wold.  Schmidt)  ;  the  latest  introductions  by  Bleek,  Reuss,  Weiss,  Holta- 
mann,  etc.  See  also  Charteris'  Canonicity :  a  collection  of  early  testimonies  to  the 
Canonical  Books  of  the  New  Testament,  based  on  Kirchhofer's  Qtiellensammlung. 
Edinburgh,  1881.  The  standard  work  on  this  subject  in  English  is  Westcott's  On 
the  Canon  0/ the  New  Testament.  Fifth  Edition.  Pp.  LVI,  593.  Cambridge  and 
London,  1881.  As  a  concise  summary  Mitchell's  Critical  Handbook  (Andorer, 
1880),  can  be  recommended. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC  SYSTEM.  79 

initely  as  an  Apostolic    and    authoritative  writing). 

2.  The  period  marking  the  separation  of  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament  from  the  remaining  Ecclesiastical 
literature  (170  a.  d. — 303  a.  d.,  to  the  persecution  of 
Diocletian).  During  this  period  the  books  common  to 
the  Muratorian  or  Roman  Canon  and  the  Peshito  or 
Syrian  Canon,  were  regarded  as  a  whole,  authoritative 
and  inspired,  and  were  used  as  of  equal  value  with  the 
Old  Testament.  This  can  be  proved  by  the  testimony 
of  contemporary  Fathers  of  the  Churches  of  Asia  Minor, 
Alexandria,  and  North  Africa.  Of  this  testimony  West- 
cott  says^ :  ''  This  comprehensive  testimony  extends  to 
the  four  Gospels,  the  Acts,  1  Peter,  1  John,  13  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul  and  the  Apocalypse;  and  with  the  exception 
of  the  Apocalypse,  no  one  of  these  books  was  ever  after- 
wards rejected  or  questioned  till  modern  times."  (With 
reference  to  the  '^ antilcgomena^^  or  ''disputed"  books 
it  may  be  said,  that  the  Apocalypse  was  universally 
received  by  all  the  writers  of  the  period,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Dionysius  of  Alexandria ;  that  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  was  accepted  by  the  Churches  of  Alex- 
andria, and  Syria,  but  not  by  those  of  Africa  and  Rome ; 
that  the  Epistles  of  James  and  Jude  were  little  used ; 
and  that  2  Peter  was  barely  known.  But  our  whole 
testimony  is  but  the  evidence  of  use  and  not  of  inquiry). 

3.  The  third  period  ends  with  the  third  council  of 
Carthage  (397),  in  which  a  catalogue  of  the  books  of 
Scripture  was  formally  ratified  by  the  action  of  the 
Council  (303—397  a.  d.).  (Of  great  importance  is  the 
testimony  of  Eusebius  {H.  E.  iii,  25),  because  he  gives 
us  a  fair  summary  of  the  results  which  follow  from  a 
careful  examination  of  the  extant  Ante-Nicene  literat- 
ure. 2) 

1.  Article  on  Canon  in  Smith's  Bibl.  Diet.     Vol.  i,  p.  370  b. 

2.  See  A  Comprehensive  General  Index  to  the   .Anfe^'Nicene   Fathers,     By 
Pemhard  Pick,     Pqffalo,  jcSSy, 


80  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Luther  at  one  time  (previous  to  1525),  expressed 
doubts  in  regard  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  James, 
and  the  Apocalypse.  He  found  doctrinal  difficulties  in 
Heb.  6:  4—6;  12:  17;  and  his  objection  to  the  Epistle 
of  James  was  based  upon  the  seeming  contradiction  of 
that  Epistle  to  Paul's  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith. 
But  the  real  harmony  between  Paul  and  James  is  now 
universally  conceded.  Both  teach  really  that  we  are  jus- 
tified by  faith ;  but  St.  James  to  meet  a  specific  perver- 
sion which  had  ignorantly  or  wickedly  been  made  of 
that  doctrine,  shows  that  the  faith  which  justifies  is  the 
one  which  also  works  out  righteousness.  We  are  jus- 
tified by  faith,  and  faith  is  demonstrated  before  the  eyes 
of  men  to  be  a  just  and  true  faith,  by  works.  Luther 
continued  to  regard  the  Apocalypse,  because  of  its  pro- 
phetic shape  and  consequently  obscurity,  of  less  value, 
than  the  other  books  of  the  Canon. 

Chemnitz,  by  his  admirable  historical  investigation, 
established  in  the  conviction  of  the  Church,  the  thorough 
canonicity  of  all  these  books.  Gerhard  limits  the  ques- 
tion to  the  author  of  the  books,  and  turns  the  dog- 
matic question  into  an  historical  one.  In  Quenstedt  the 
whole  matter  is  reduced  to  little  more  than  an  historical 
notice.  Hollaz  says:  ''We  judge  of  the  canonical  au- 
thority of  Scripture  with  reference  to  its  doctrines,  by 
the  same  proofs  and  arguments  by  which  we  decide  in 
regard  to  its  divine  origin It  is  proved  by  exter- 
nal and  internal  criteria,  but  especially  by  the  internal 
testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  illuminating  the  minds  of 
men,  through  the  Scriptures  attentively  read  or  heard 
from  the  mouth  of  a  teacher.  ...  It  is  indeed  distinctly 
proved  by  the  testimony  of  the  primitive  Church,  but 
not  by  this  alone  ....  We  add  to  the  testimony  of  the 
primitive  Church,  Jthe  testimony  of  Scripture,  its  con- 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC  SYSTEM.  81 

tinned  preservation  for  the  profitable  use  of  men,  and 
the  character  of  its  style." 

Chemnitz  says :  The  Scriptures  derive  canonical 
authority  1)  mainly  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whose 
impulse  and  inspiration  they  v^ere  written ;  2)  from  the 
writers  themselves,  to  whom  God  gave  clear  and  pecu- 
liar proofs  of  their  truth,  and  3)  from  the  primitive 
Church,  as  a  witness,  in  whose  day  these  writings  were 
published  and  approved. 

Gerhard  says:  1)  There  is,  indeed,  some  difference 
to  be  made  between  the  books  that  are  contained  in  the 
New  Testament.  For  it  cannot  be  denied  that  some  of 
them  were,  at  times,  objected  to  by  some  in  the  Early 
Church.  2)  But  these  ''  disputed  books  "  are  not  apoc- 
ryphal :  a)  Because  the  doubts  concerning  them  in  the 
primitive  Church  did  not  so  much  relate  to  their  canon- 
ical authority  as  to  their  secondary  author  (the  Holy 
Spirit  being  regarded  as  the  original  Divine  author); 
h)  Because  even  this  doubt  was  not  entertained  con- 
cerning them  by  all  the  churches  or  ministers,  but  onl^^ 
by  some,  c)  The  fathers  who  rejected  the  Apocrypha  of 
the  Old  Testament  did  not  exclude  any  book  of  the  New 
Testament  from  the  Canon.  3)  For  the  sake  of  accuracy 
we  may  distinguish  between  the  canonical  books  of  the 
New  Testament  of  the  £rst  and  second  rank.  Those  of 
the  hrst  rank  are  those  concerning  whose  authors  or 
authority  there  has  never  been  any  doubt  in  the  Church, 
of  the  secoi2c/  rank  those  concerning  whose  authors  there 
have  sometimes  been  doubts. 

So  likewise  Quenstedt  :  We  call  those  books  of  the 
New  Testament  protocanonical,  or  of  the  first  rank, 
concerning  whose  authority  and  secondary  authors 
there  never  was  any  doubt  in  the  Church ;  and  those 
deuterocanonical,   or  of  the  second    rank,   concerning 


82  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

whose  secondary  authors  (not  their  authority,  how- 
ever) there  were  at  times  doubts  entertained  by  some*. 

Among  recent  critics  this  distinction  between  proto- 
canonical  and  deuterocanonical  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament has  been  renewed  by  Philippi,  Kahnis,  and 
Voigt. 

The  disposition  of  our  later  theologians  has  been  to 
decide  the  canonicity  of  the  books  not  so  much  from  the 
transient  hesitation  of  the  Early  Church,  nor  from  the 
theory  of  different  degrees  of  inspiration,  as  from  their 
internal  character  and  contents. 

The  historical  character  of  Scripture  determines  its 
application  in  the  service  of  Dogmatics.  The  doctrinal 
contents  of  the  particular  biblical  books  always  stands 
in  connection  with  the  historical  matter  which  pertains 
to  these  books.  The  citation  of  the  Old  Testament  by 
older  dogmaticians  rests  upon  the  supposition  that 
there  is  an  essential  unit3''  in  the  matter  of  Scripture.  In 
modern  Dogmatics  the  Old  Testament  proof  passages 
are  adduced  with  far  greater  caution,  and  their  force  is 
considered  as  modified  by  the  point  of  histor^'^  at  which 
they  occur.  It  is  felt  that  as  Revelation  grows  in  the 
intensity  of  its  brightness,  it  is  necessary  to  avoid  bring- 
ing a  mode  of  conception  which  belongs  to  the  relative 
twilight,  into  the  purer  and  fuller  light  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

4.     The  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

The  biblical  interpreter  must  not  only  possess  certain 
intellectual  and  moral  qualifications,  but  his  first  quali- 
fication must  be  a  living  faith,  and  in  all  his  attempts 
to  expound  Scripture  he  must  be  guided  by  the  central 
truth  of  all  Revelation,  salvation  in  Christ,  which  is  the 

I.  The  quotations  from  Chemnitz^  Gerhard^  Quef^stedt^  and  HoUaz  liaye; 
been  condensed  from  Schmid. 


THE  F'ORMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC  SYSTEM.  83 

very  essence  of  Christianity  and  the  material  principle 
of  Dogmatics.  Moreover  in  the  setting  forth  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible  he  must  recognize  the  general  devel- 
opment which  Revelation  passes  through  in  Scripture 
itself.  And  though  the  Church  doctrine  may  be  of  great 
service  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures,  still  his 
guide  must  be  Scripture  itself  as  his  only  norm. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  of  Inspiration, 
and  of  the  Attributes  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  will  be 
presented  in  the  dogmatic  system  itself.  But  in  speaking 
of  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  we  must  also  speak  of 
its  perspicuity. 

By  the  perspicuity  of  Scripture  we  mean  that  Script- 
ure sets  forth  all  things  necessary  for  faith,  holiness,  and 
salvation  in  such  clear  terms,  that  an  earnest,  unprej- 
udiced mind  may  easily  understand  them.  Its  m3^steries 
are  in  the  nature  of  the  things  jUotm  the  obscurity  of  its 
phrases.    It  is  its  own  interpreter  in  all  things  needful. 

The  clearness  of  Scripture  is  two-fold : 

Luther  says:  "One  kind  of  clearness  is  external, 
lying  in  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  the  other  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  heart.  If  you  speak  of  the  internal 
clearness,  no  man  understands  a  single  iota  in  the 
Scriptures  by  the  natural  powers  of  his  own  mind,  un- 
less he  have  the  Spirit  of  God ;  all  have  obscure  hearts. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  required  for  the  understanding  of  the 
whole  of  Scripture  and  of  all  its  parts.  If  you  allude  to 
the  exteriza/ clearness,  there  is  nothing  left  obscure  and 
ambiguous,  but  all  things  brought  to  light  by  the  Word 
are  perfectly  clear."  Again:  **The  things  of  God  are 
obscure;  the  things  of  Scripture  are  perspicuous.  The 
doctrines  in  themselves  are  obscure ;  but  in  so  far  as 
they  are  presented  in  Scripture  they  are  manifest,  if  we 


84  tNTRODUCTION  TO  DOOMATIO  THEOLOGY. 

are  willing  to  be  content  with  that  knowledge  which 
God  communicates  in  the  Scriptures  to  the  Church." 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  always  laid  the  greatest 
stress  upon  the  Analogy  of  Faith  as  an  inspired  means 
of  interpretation  1 . 

Quenstedt:  "  Obscure  passages, which  need  explana- 
tion, can  and  should  be  explained  by  other  passages 
that  are  more  clear,  and  thus  the  Scripture  itself  fur- 
nishes an  interpretation  of  obscure  expressions 

From  no  other  source  than  the  Sacred  Scriptures  them- 
selves can  a  certain  and  infalHble  interpretation  of 
Scripture  be  drawn.  For  Scripture  itself,  or  rather  the 
Holy  Spirit  speaking  in  Scripture  or  through  it,  is  the 
legitimate  and  independent  interpreter  of  itself" 

Gerhard  :  "All  interpretation  of  Scripture  should  be 

according  to  the  analogy  of  faith This  signifies 

that  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  should  be  instituted 
and  carried  on  in  such  a  manner  as  to  accord  with  the 
usual  line  of  thought  which  is  con  vej^ed  in  Scripture  con- 
cerning each  leading  doctrine.  For,  since  all  Scripture 
was  given  by  the  immediate  suggestion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  is  inspired,  all  things  in  it  are  harmonious 
and  perfectly  consistent  with  each  other,  so  that  no  dis- 
crepancy or  self-contradiction  occurs  in  it.  .  .  .  Nothing 
is  ever  to  be  broached  in  the  interpretation  of  Scripture 
that  conflicts  with  the  rule  of  faith ;  and  hence,  if  we  be 
not  exactly  able  at  all  times  to  ascertain  the  exact  sense 
of  any  passage,  as  designed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  should 
nevertheless  beware  of  proposing  anj^thing  that  is  con- 
trary to  the  analogy  of  faith." 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  also  always  opposed  the 
theory  of  a  multiple  sense  in  Scripture.  There  is  no  founda- 

I.  For  an  explanation  of  the  principles  that  underlie  this  method  of  interpre- 
tation see  my  TAeo/.  Hncy.^  Part  I.     Exegetical  Theology,  pp.  142 — 145. 


THE  FOEMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC)  SYSTEM.  85 

tion  whatever  for  the  position,  held  by  some,  that  each 
passage,  or  certain  passages,  can  be  understood  in  dif- 
ferent ways,  all  equally  conformed  to  the  divine  thought. 
No  wonder,  with  such  views,  that  the  Bible  becomes  a 
changeable,  doubtful  rule  of  faith,  flexible  at  the  will  of 
the  fancies  or  passions  of  men,  or  fluctuating  with  the 
tendencies  of  the  times.  If  w^e  would  grant  such  a  mul- 
tiple or  double  sense  in  Scripture,  then,  indeed,  the  pro- 
blem of  interpretation  would  become  indeterminate,  the 
Bible  would  become  a  field  for  the  display  of  the  wit  and 
vanity  of  the  theologian,  instead  of  being  the  simple, 
clear,  and  edifying  guide  to  salvation  which  it  professes 
to  be. 

Gerhard  :  *'  There  is  but  one  proper  and  true  sense 
of  each  passage,  which  the  Holy  Spirit  thereby  intends, 
and  which  is  drawn  from  the  proper  signification  of  the 
words,  and  only  from  this  literal  sense  available  argu- 
ments may  be  derived.  .  .  .  All  interpretation  of  Script- 
ure should  be  literal,  and  there  should  be  no  departure 
from  the  letter  in  matters  of  faith,  unless  the  Scriptures 
themselves  indicate  the  figurativeness  and  explain  it." 
Again:  "Allegories,  tropes,  analogies,  are  not  difierent 
senses,  but  different  adaptations  of  the  same  sense  and 
subject  designated  by  the  letter." 

This  does  not  prevent  the  application  of  the  literal 
sense  of  a  passage  in  a  spiritual  way.  The  literal  sense 
of  Scripture  may  be  used  as  an  allegory,  a  type,  or  a 
parable. 

Caloyius  :  "  It  is  called  the  allegorical  sense,  when  a 
Scriptural  historical  narrative  of  things,  that  really 
occurred,  is  applied  to  a  certain  mystery  or  spiritual 
doctrine,  by  the  intention  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  an  alle- 
gorical manner ;  it  is  called  typical,  when  under  exter- 
nal   facts   or  prophetic  visions,   things  hidden,   either 


86  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

present  or  future,  are  prefigured,  or  especially  matters 
relating  to  the  New  Testament  are  shadowed  forth; 
and  parabolical,  when  something  is  described  as  having 
really  occured,  and  yet  applied  to  designate  something 
spiritual." 

Gerhard^  states  the  principles  that  underlie  all  true 
interpretation  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  as  follows : 

1)  Our  mind  is  blind  without  the  light  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ; 

2)  In  addition  to  this  natural  blindness,  some  are 
blinded  by  singular  wickedness  and  an  unyielding  hard- 
ness of  heart ;  but  neither  of  these  kinds  of  blindness, 
makes  or  proves  the  Scriptures  obscure ; 

3)  Because  our  mind  is  blind  we  must  pray  for  the 
light  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 

4)  Our  mind  is  not  now  immediately  illuminated  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  but  by  means  of  the  Word  heard  and 
meditated  upon ; 

5)  The  doctrines  necessary  to  be  known  by  every  one 
for  salvation  are  taught  in  Scripture  in  clear  and  per- 
spicuous language ; 

6)  The  remaining  passages  of  Scripture  receive  light 
from  these  important  doctrines  ; 

7)  From  the  clear  passages  of  Scripture  a  rule  of  faith 
is  deduced  to  which  the  exposition  of  the  more  difficult 
passages  must  be  conformed ; 

8)  If  we  cannot  definitely  and  exactly  ascertain  the 
precise  meaning  of  all  difficult  passages,  it  is  sufficient 
that  we  do  not  propose  any  interpretation  contrary  to 
the  analogy  of  faith ; 

9)  But  the  more  obscure  passages  may  be  rightly 
and  accurately  interpreted,  if  we  apply  the  means  cal- 
culated to  remove  the  difficulties ; 

5.  The  quotations  from  our  older  Dogmaticians  are  condensed  from  Schmid's 
Doctrinal  Theology. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  DOGMATIC  SYSTEM.  87 

10)  To  find  out  these  means, we  must  seek  the  causes 
of  the  obscurity ; 

11)  Some  passages  are  obscure  in  themselves,  others, 
when  compared  with  other  passages ;  if  they  merely 
seem  to  be  in  conflict  with  other  passages,  this  obscur- 
ity may  be  removed  by  reconciling  the  passages ; 

12)  Those  passages  that  are  obscure  in  themselves, 
are  so,  either  as  to  their  subject-matter  or  as  to  their 
words.  The  obscurity  in  regard  to  the  subject-matter 
is  removed  by  the  analogy  of  faith,  and  bj^  those  settled 
axioms  in  individual  articles  of  belief,  which  are  to  be 
regarded  as  the  unfailing  guide ; 

13)  The  obscurity  in  regard  to  the  words  is  removed 

a)  by  the  grammatical  analysis  of  sentences, 

b)  by  the  rhetorical  exposition  of  tropes  and  figures, 

c)  by  the  logical  consideration  of  the  order  and  the 
circumstances, 

d)  by  an  acquaintance  with  physical  science, 

e)  but  the  greatest  assistance  is  afforded  by  a  pru- 
dent and  diligent  collation  of  Scripture  passages. 

SECTION  XIII. 

THE  CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  THE  SUBJECTIVE  CON- 
SCIOUSNESS OF  FAITH. 

A  system  of  Dogmatics  must  have  a  churchly 
as  well  as  a  biblical  character.  Its  harmony 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  should  not,  how- 
ever, be  a  mere  external  one,  but  one  produced 
through  the  fellowship  of  the  faith  which  the 
dogmatician  himself  has  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church,  and  which  he  seeks  to  express  in  his  dog- 
matic system. 


88  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

1.  The  Churchly  Character  of  Dogmatics, 

The  faith  and  doctrinal  thinking  of  the  present  is 
conditioned  by  the  intellectual  labors  and  the  develop- 
ment of  Church  doctrine -in  the  past,  and  must  conse- 
quently assure  itself  of  its  essential  harmony  with  the 
past ;  for  there  are  no  absolute  breaks  in  human  knowl- 
edge. Truth  may  be  obscured  but  not  annihilated,  and 
the  sciences  which  seem  least  historical  are  nevertheless 
historical. 

The  man  who  takes  up  the  Bible  now  without  refer- 
ence to  what  has  been  done  toward  its  elucidation  in 
the  past,  and  without  being  guided  by  the  development 
of  doctrine  is  exactly  as  foolish  as  the  man  who  would 
undertake  to  take  up  any  branch  of  science  without  re- 
gard to  what  has  been  done  before. 

Great  connecting  links  in  the  continuing  develop- 
ment of  the  Church  doctrine  are  furnished  by  the  Con- 
fessions, ^which,  as  they  were  occasioned  by  the  historical 
necessity  of  their  times,  and  conditioned  by  those  con- 
nections as  to  the  mode  in  which  they  present  doctrine, 
are  to  be  interpreted  and  vindicated  by  their  history, 

2.  The  Confessions  of  the  Church. 

Faith  makes  men  Christians,  but  Confession  alone 
marks  them  as  Christians.  The  Rule  of  Faith  (the  Bible) 
is  God's  voice  to  us  ;  faith  is  the  hearing  of  that  voice, 
and  the  Confession  is  our  reply  of  assent  to  it.  As  the 
Creed  is  not,  and  cannot  be  the  Rule  of  Faith,  but  is  its 
Confession  merely,  so  the  Bible,  because  it  is  the  Rule  of 
Faith,  is  of  necessitj^  not  its  Confession. 

Fidelity  to  the  Rule  of  Faith  (the  Bible),  fidehty  to 
the  faith  it  teaches,  demands  that  there  shall  be  a  Con- 
fession of  the  faith^ . 

Confessions  are  necessary  1)  to  establish  the  unity  of 

I.     Compare  Krauth's  Conservative  Reformation,  pp.  i66,  167. 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.     89 

the  faith,  and  2)  to  ward  off  error.  This  necessity  is 
both  psychological  and  historical.  It  is  not  an  absolute 
necessity,  but  what  may  be  called  one  ''  of  expediency." 
For  by  her  confessions  a  Church  gives  evidence  of  the 
faith  she  teaches  and  shows  in  what  she  differs  from 
other  Churches,  and  also  bears  continual  testimony 
against  those  who  would  introduce  error. 

On  the  i2ecessit7  of  Confessions  the  Formula  of  Con- 
CORD^  expresses  itself  very  clearly:  ''Because  directl3^ 
after  the  times  of  the  Apostles,  and  even  in  their  lives, 
false  teachers  and  heretics  arose,  and  against  them,  in 
the  Early  Church,  symbols,  i.  e.,  brief,  plain  confessions, 
were  composed, which  were  regarded  as  the  unanimous, 
universal  Christian  faith,  and  confession  of  the  ortho- 
dox and  true  Church,  namely  the  Apostles^  Creed  ^ ,  the 

2.  See  Book  of  Cottcord  p.  492,  3. 

3.  It  is  called  the  Apostles  Creed  not  because  it  was  composed  by 
the  Apostles,  but  because  it  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  doctrine  taught 
by  the  Apostles.  It  gradually  grew  out  of  the  confessions  recorded  in 
the  Scriptures  (Mark.  12  :  29  ;  John  17  :  3,  "  Thee,  the  only  true  God" ; 
I  Cor.  8 :  4,  "  There  is  no  God  but  one  ";  Gal.  3  :  20,  ''God  is  one  ";  i 
Tim.  2  :  5,  ''For  there  is  one  God";  John  i  :  49,  "  Thou  art  the  Son  of 
God"  (Nathanael)  ;  John  6  :  68, 69,  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  thou 
hast  the  words  of  eternal  life.  And  we  have  believed  and  know  that  thou 
art  the  Holy  One  of  God  "  (Peter)  ;  Matt.  16 :  16,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God"  (Peter) ;  John  20 :  28,  "  My  Lord  and  my 
God"  (Thomas).  St.  Paul  gives  us  his  confession  in  i  Cor.  8:6;  i 
Tim.  3:  16;  Heb.  6:  i,  2;  5:  12;  i  Cor.  15:  3,  4;  2  Tim.  i:  13,  14; 
St.  John  in  i  John  4 :  2 ;  2  John  10)  and  out  of  the  baptismal  formula 
(Matt.  28  :  19  :  20),  which  last  determined  its  Trinitarian  order  and  ar- 
rangement. In  the  churches  of  the  West  a  distinction  soon  arose  be- 
tween the  baptis7nal  confessions  and  the  Rules  of  Faith.  The  latter 
became  more  explicit  and  were  more  particularly  directed  against  false 
doctrine.  The  former,  the  baptismal  confessions,  finally  took  the  form 
of  the  Apostles  Creed,  while  the  latter,  the  Rules  of  Faith  became  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  the  Nicene  Creed.    The  creed  confessed  at  bap- 


90         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Nicene  Creed ^ ,  and  the  Athanasian  Creed  ^ ;  we  confess 
them  as  binding  upon  us,  and  hereby  reject  all  heresies 

tism,  at  first,  was  not  precisely  the  same.  In  different  congregations 
different  forms  were  used,  some  shorter,  some  longer.  The  most  com- 
plete forms  of  the  baptismal  creed  in  use  in  the  West  were  found  in 
the  Churches  of  Rome,  Aquileia,  and  Milan  in  Southern  Europe,  and 
in  the  African  Churches  of  Carthage  and  Hippo.  The  form  used  in 
the  Church  at  Rome  gradually  gained  acceptance  in  the  West  on  ac- 
count of  its  intrinsic  excellence  and  the  commanding  position  of  the 
Church.  The  Latin  text  of  the  Creed  of  the  Church  at  Rome  is  first 
given  by  Rufinus  (about  390,  A.  D.,  d.  410),  and  the  Greek  text,  which 
is  probably  older  than  the  Latin,  we  have  from  Marcellus  of  Ancyra, 
who  lived  about  340  A.  D.  The  Roman  Creed  was  gradually  enlarged 
by  the  addition  of  several  articles,  and  it  was  not  until  the  close  of  the 
fifth  century  that  the  present  text  of  the  Apostles'  Creed  came  into 
use,  and  not  until  the  eighth  that  it  was  generally  accepted  in  the 
Churches  of  the  West.  (For  a  fuller  presentation  see  Schaff's  Creeds 
of  Christendo7n,  vol,  \,pp.  14 — 23;  especially  Casparz's  Quellen  zur 
Geschichte  desTauf symbols  und  der  Glaubensregel.  3  vols.,  Christiania, 
1866— 1875). 

4.  As  the  Apostles'  Creed  had  its  origin  in  the  baptismal  confes- 
sions used  in  the  Western  Churches,  so  likewise  the  Nicene  Creed  had 
its  origin  in  the  baptismal  formula  used  in  the  Eastern  Churches.  As 
the  Eastern  Church  was  continually  in  conflict  with  heresy,  the  bap- 
tismal confessions  used  in  their  churches,  even  before  the  Council  of 
Nicaea  (325  A.  D.),  were  more  metaphysical,  more  definite  and  explicit 
than  the  Apostles'  Creed,  especially  in  the  statement  of  the  divinity  of 
Christ.  This  can  be  seen  from  the  Creed  of  Eusebius,  on  which  the 
Nicene  Creed  was  based.  The  Nicene  Creed  can  be  distinguished  in 
three  forms  :  i)  The  original  Nicene  Creed  was  adopted  at  the  first 
General  Council,  held  at  Nicsea  in  Bithynia,  not  far  from  Constantinople, 
in  325  A.  D.  This  council  was  attended  by  318  bishops  and  was  called 
to  settle  the  Arian  controversy.  The  Creed,  however,  abruptly  ended 
with  the  words  "  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  2)  At  the  second  General 
Council,  held  at  Constantinople  in  381  A.  D.,  consisting  however  of  only 
1 50  bishops,  a  few  additions  were  made  to  the  first  two  articles,  but  to 
the  last  article,  treating  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  important  additions  were 
made,  especially  directed  against  those  who  denied  the  Deity  of  the  Holy 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.    91 

and  dogmas  which,  contrary  to  them,  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  Church  of  God," 

Ghost.  This  enlarged  Creed  is  known  as  the  Nicasno-Constantinopoli- 
tan  Creed  of  381,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  accepted  by  a 
council,  before  the  fourth  General  Council,  held  at  Chalcedon,  451  a. 
D.  3)  The  final  change  made  in  the  Nicene  Creed  took  place  in  the 
Western  Church,  by  the  addition  of  the  little  word  '' filioque  "  {"  and 
in  the  Son  "),  the  occasion  of  the  greatest  schism  in  Christendom,  for 
that  one  word,  together  with  the  question  of  the  Jurisdiction  of  the 
Pope  of  Rome,  divides  the  Greek  and  Roman  Catholic  Churches  of  the 
present  day.  This  expression  *'filioque  "  was  put  into  the  Creed  by 
the  Latin  Church,  without  consulting  the  Church  of  the  East.  The 
first  trace  of  this  word  in  the  Nicene  Creed  we  find  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  third  Council  of  Toledo  in  Spain,  589  A.  D.,  but  by  the  close  of 
the  ninth  century  it  was  generally  accepted  in  the  West,  and  at  the 
Reformation  passed  over  into  the  Protestant  Churches  (See  Literature 
already  cited). 

5.  The  origin  of  the  Aihanasian  Creed  like  that  of  the  Apostles 
is  involved  in  obscurity.  It  is  called  Athanasian,  not  because  he  wrote 
it,  but  because  it  is  a  noble  exposition  and  defence  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity,  of  which  Athanasius  {d.  373)  was  the  great  champion.  Of 
its  authorship  nothing  is  known  for  certain.  It  arose  in  the  Latin 
churches  of  Gaul,  North  Africa,  and  Spain,  drawn  up  originally  no 
doubt,  by  a  follower  of  Augustine.  It  borrows  some  passages  from 
Augustine  and  other  Latin  Fathers,  and  first  appears  in  its  full  form 
about  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century.  The  Creed  consists  of  two 
chief  parts,  preceded  by  a  prologue  of  two  verses,  and  followed  by  an 
epilogue  of  one  verse.  The  first  part,  verses  3 — 26,  sets  forth  the  or- 
thodox doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity  to  the  exclusion  of  every  kind  of 
subordination  of  essence.  The  second  part,  verses  27 — 39,  contains  a 
very  clear  statement  of  the  orthodox  doctrine  concerning  the  Person  of 
Christ,  as  settled  by  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  451  a.  d.,  and  in  this 
respect  it  is  a  valuable  supplement  to  the  Apostles'  and  Nicene  Creeds. 
The  Athanasian  Creed  acquired  great  authority  in  the  Western  Church, 
and  during  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  almost  daily  used  in  the  morning 
devotions.  In  the  Greek  Church,  however,  it  never  obtained  formal 
ecclesiastical  sanction,  and  is  to  this  day  only  used  for  private  devo- 
tion, —  the  clause  of  the  double  procession  of  the  Spirit,  however,  being 


92  TNTRODtTCTlON  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

The  aMti2or/t7  of  the  Confessions  is  internal  and  ex- 
ternal. Their  internal  authority  consists  in  their  con- 
formity with  Scripture.  Just  as  men  are  in  duty  bound 
to  believe  the  Scriptures,  when  their  divine  origin  is 
known,  so  are  they  bound  to  believe  and  accept  the  Con- 
fessions when  their  conformity  with  the  Holy  Scripture 
is  seen.  Their  external  authority  consists  in  their  ap- 
proval by  the  Churchy 

With  reference  to  the  Confessions  of  our  own  Evan- 
gelical Lutheran  Church  th^Formulaof  Concord'' says  : 
"  As  to  the  schism  in  matters  of  faith  which  has  occured 
in  our  time,  we  regard  the  unanimous  consensus  and  dec- 
laration of  our  Christian  faith  and  confession,  especially 
against  the  Papacy  and  its  false  worship,  idolatry,  su- 
perstition, and  against  other  sects,  as  the  Symbol  of  our 
time, viz..  The  First  Unaltered  Augsburg  Confession^, 

omitted.  The  Reformers  accepted  the  Athanasian  Creed,  and  Luther 
says  of  it :  "  It  has  been  so  composed  that  I  do  not  know  whether, 
since  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  anything  more  important  and  glorious 
has  been  written." 

6.  Compare  Dr.  Jacobs'    Historical    Introduction    to  Book  of  Concord,  vol. 

2,   p.   12. 

7.  See  Book  of  Concord^  p.  492,  4 — 8. 

8.  I )  On  Oct.  I — 3,  1529,  a  Conference  took  place  at  Marburg 
between  Luther  and  the  Saxon  divines  upon  the  one  side,  and  Zwingli 
and  the  Swiss  divines  on  the  other  side.  Luther  in  conjunction  with 
Melanchthon,  Jonas,  Osiander,  Brenz  and  Agricola,  prepared  the  xv. 
Marburg  Articles.  These  Articles  were  meant  to  show  on  what  points 
the  Lutherans  and  Zwinglians  agreed  and  also  to  state  the  point  on 
which  they  did  not  agree,  — and  as  a  fair  statement  of  the  points  dis- 
puted, and  undisputed,  were  signed  by  all  the  theologians  of  both  par- 
ties. (A  translation  of  these  Articles  is  given  in  Jacobs  edition  of 
Book  of  Concord,  vol,  2,  pp.  69 — 74). 

2)  On  the  basis  of  these  xv.  Articles  of  Marburg,  Luther  with  the 
advice  and  assistance  of  the  the  other  theologians  prepared  xvii  Arti- 
cles, which  were  presented  at  the  Conference  held  at  Schwabach,  Oct. 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.    93 

delivered  to  the  Emperor  Charles  v.   at  Augsburg  in 

16,  1529,  and  hence  known  as  the  xvii.  Articles  of  Schwabach.     (For 
translation  see  Jacobs'  edition  of  Book  of  Concord,  vol.  2,  pp.  69 — 74). 

3)  These  xvil.  Articles  of  Schwabach  are  mainly  doctrinal,  and  in 
a  revised  form  are  the  basis  of  the  xxi.  Doctrinal  Articles  of  the  Augs- 
burg Confession.  But  as  they  had  been  presented  at  Smalcald,  Nov. 
29,  1529,  they  have  sometimes  been  called  the  Smalcald  Articles,  and 
were  also  known  for  a  long  time  as  the  Torgau  Articles,  because  in  a 
revised  form  Luther  had  sent  them  to  Torgau,  Mar.  20 — 27,  1530. 

4)  Charles  V.  finally  summoned  a  Diet  of  the  German  Empire  to 
convene  at  Augsburg,  April  8, 1530;  and  he  directed  the  friends  of  the 
Evangelical  faith  to  prepare,  for  presentation  to  the  Diet,  a  statement 
on  the  doctrinal  points  of  division.  This  summons  reached  the  Elector 
John  of  Saxony  at  Torgau  on  March  11,  1530.  On  March  14,  a  letter 
was  sent  to  Luther,  Jonas,  Bugenhagen  and  Melanchthon  at  Witten- 
berg, summoning  them  immediately  to  lay  aside  all  other  work  and 
devote  all  the  time  that  was  left  to  the  preparation  of  a  paper  covering 
all  the  articles,  both  of  faith  and  of  external  usages  and  ceremonies, 
that  were  involved  in  the  conflict.  The  theologians  were  instructed  to 
deliver  the  result  of  their  deliberations  in  person  to  the  Elector  at 
Torgau  on  the  following  Sunday,  March  20.  This  special  writing,  of 
which  Luther  was  the  chief  author,  assisted  by  the  other  theologians 
at  Wittenberg,  was  sent  to  the  Elector  at  Torgau,  March  20 — 27,  1530, 
and  are  the  Torgau  Articles  proper.  These  Articles  are  on  abuses,  and 
form  the  basis  of  Articles  xxii— xxvill.  of  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
its  articles  on  Abuses.  In  addition  to  these  articles,  Luther,  however, 
also  sent  a  revised  copy  of  the  xvii.  Articles  of  Schwabach,  as  stated 
above.  (For  translation  of  the  Torgau  Articles  see  Jacobs  edition  of 
Book  of  Concord,  vol.  2,  pp.  75—98). 

5)  These  two  sets  of  Articles  sent  to  Torgau,  March  20 — 27,  1530, 
form  the  basis  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  and  are  mainly  from  the 
hand  of  Luther,  —  the  xvii.  Articles  of  Schwabach  forming  the  basis 
of  the  XXI.  Doctrinal  Articles,  and  the  Torgau  Articles  proper  form- 
ing the  VII.  Articles  on  Abuses.  But  as  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  was  not 
opened  until  June  20,  time  was  given  for  Melanchthon  to  elaborate  the 
Confession  and  give  to  it  its  matchless  form.  Melanchthon  himself  in 
his  Corpus  Doctrines  (German,  1559,  Latin,  1560),  gives  a  brief  history 
of  the  composition  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  how  "  in  the  presence 
of  the  Elector  and   princes  and  legates  who  subscribed  it,  with  the 


94  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

the  year    1530,  in  the  great  Diet,  together  with  its 

counselors  and  preachers,  all  the  articles  were  discussed  and  deter- 
mined upon  in  regular  course,  sentence  by  sentence,"  how  "  the  com- 
plete form  of  the  Confession  was  subsequently  sent  to  Luther,  who 
wrote  to  the  princes  that  he  had  both  read  this  Confession  and  appro- 
ved it."  (See  especially  the  historic  presentation  by  Dr.  Krauth  in  his 
Conservative  Reformation,  pp.  216 — 248). 

6)  Dr.  Krauth  in  his  Conservative  Reformation,  pp.  219,  220:  "  In 
six  instances,  the  very  numbers  of  the  Schwabach  Articles  correspond 
with  those  of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  They  coincide  throughout, 
not  only  in  doctrine,  but  in  a  vast  number  of  cases  word  for  word,  the 
Augsburg  Confession  being  a  mere  transcript,  in  these  cases,  of  the 
Schwabach  Articles.  The  differences  are  either  merely  stylistic,  or  are 
made  necessary  by  the  larger  object  and  compass  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession  ;  but  so  thoroughly  do  the  Schwabach  Articles  condition 
and  shade  every  part  of  it,  as  to  give  it  even  the  peculiarity  of  phrase- 
ology characteristic  of  Luther." 

"  To  a  large  extent,  therefore,  Melanchthon's  work  is  but  an  elabo- 
ration of  Luther's,  and  to  a  large  extent  it  is  not  an  elaboration,  but  a 
reproduction.  To  Luther  belong  the  doctrinal  power  of  the  Confession, 
its  inmost  life  and  spirit,  and  to  Melanchthon  its  matchless  form.  Both 
are  in  some  sense  its  authors,  but  the  most  essential  elements  are  due 
to  Luther,  who  is  by  pre-eminence  its  author,  as  Melanchthon  is  its 
composer." 

7)  The  Confession,  in  Latin  and  German,  was  presented  to  the  Diet 
of  Augsburg  on  Saturday,  June  25,  1530.  "Both  texts  are  originals  ; 
neither  text  is  properly  a  translation  of  the  other ;  both  present  precisely 
the  same  doctrine,  but  with  verbal  differences,  which  make  the  one  an 
indispensable  guide  in  the  understanding  of  the  other  ;  both  texts  have, 
consequently,  the  same  authority.  The  German  copy  was  the  one  se- 
lected, on  national  grounds,  to  be  read  aloud.  Both  copies  were  taken 
by  the  Emperor,  who  handed  the  German  to  the  Elector  of  Mentz,  and 
retained  the  Latin.  It  is  not  now  known  where  either  of  the  originals 
is,  nor  with  certainty  that  either  is  in  existence.  In  addition  to  seven 
unauthorized  editions  in  the  year  1530,  the  Confession  was  printed, 
under  Melanchthon's  own  direction,  both  in  Latin  and  German  while 
the  Diet  was  still  sitting."  (Z>r.  Krauth  in  Conservative  Reformation, 

pp.  242,  243). 

8)  Melanchthon's  varied  edition  of  the  Latin  Confession  is  of  three 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.     95 

Apology^ ,  and  the  Articles  composed  at  Smalcald  ^  ^  in 

kinds  :  i)  The  edition  of  1531,  8vo.  The  variations  are  slight  and  of  a 
verbal  nature.  It  has  never  been  pretended  that  they  affect  the  mean- 
ing. This  edition  has  often  been  confounded  with  the  original  quarto 
edition  of  1530.  2)  The  quarto  edition  of  1540,  known  as  the  Variata, 
because  in  it  Melanchthon  has  elaborated  anew  some  of  the  articles, 
and  has  made  many  important  changes.  3)  The  octavo  edition  of  1542, 
the  Variata  varied.  This  last  has  been  frequently  reprinted,  and  is 
sometimes  confounded  with  the  Variata  of  1 540. 

Of  the  edition  of  1 540,  known  as  the  Variata,  Dr.  Krauth  in  his 
Conservative  Reformation  says  {pp.  245,  246) :  "  It  is  not  to  be  dis- 
puted that  in  various  respects,  as  a  statement  of  doctrine,  the  Variata 
has  great  beauty  and  great  value,  and  that  where  it  indisputably  is  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  Confession,  it  furnishes  an  important  aid  in 
its  interpretation.  Had  Melanchthon  put  forth  the  new  matter  purely 
as  a  private  writing,  most  of  it  would  have  received  the  unquestioned 
admiration  to  which  it  was  well  entitled.  But  he  made  the  fatal  mistake 
of  treating  a  great  official  document  as  if  it  were  his  private  property, 
yet  preserving  the  old  title,  the  old  form  in  general,  and  the  old  signat- 
ures." (For  a  translation  of  the  Variata  of  1 540  see  Jacobs  edition 
of  Book  of  Concord,  vol.  2,  pp.  103 — 147  ;  for  the  chief  divergences  of 
the  Variata  of  1542  from  that  of  1540,  see//.  147 — 158). 

9)  Of  the  structure  and  contents  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  Dr. 
Krauth  says  {Conservative  Reformation,  pp.  253 — 255)  :  "  It  contains, 
as  its  two  fundamental  parts,  a  positive  assertion  of  the  most  neces- 
sary truths,  and  a  negation  of  the  most  serious  abuses.  It  comprises  : 
\.  The  Preface  ;  \\.  Twenty-one  Principal  Articles  of  Faith  ;  111.  An 
Epilogue- Prologue,  which  unites  the  first  part  with  the  second,  and 
makes  a  graceful  transition  from  the  one  to  the  other ;  IV.  The  Second 
Great  Division,  embracing  Seven  Articles  on  Abuses  ;  V.  The  Epilo- 
gue, followed  by  the  Subscriptions." 

"The  Articles  may  be  classified  thus  :  i)  The  Confessedly  Catholic, 
or  Universal  Christian  Articles,  —  those  which  Christendom,  Greek 
and    Roman,  have  confessed,  especially  in   the  Apostles'  and  Nicene 

Creed 2)  The  Protestant  Articles,  —  those  opposed   to  the 

errors  of   doctrine,  and  the  abuses  in  usage,  of  the  Papal  part  of  the 

Church  of  the  West 3)  The  Evangelical  Articles,  or  parts  of 

Articles,  —  those  articles  which  especially  assert  the  doctrines  which 
are  connected  most  directly  with  the  Gospel  in  its  essential  character 


96  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

the  year  1537,  and  subscribed  by  the  chief  theologians 

as  tidings  of  redemption  to  lost  man,  —  the  great  doctrines  of  grace. 
These  articles  are  especially  those  which  teach  the  fall  of  man,  the  rad- 
ical corruption  of  his  nature,  his  exposure  to  eternal  death,  and  the  ab- 
solute necessity  of  regeneration  (Art.  Il)  ;  the  atonement  of  Christ,  and 
the  saving  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (in)  ;  justification  by  faith  alone 
(IV),  the  true  character  of  repentance,  or  conversion  (xil) ;  and  the  im- 
potence of  man's  own  will  to  effect  it  (xviii).  4)  The  Conservative 
Articles,  the  Articles  which  set  forth  distinctive  biblical  doctrines 
which  the  Lutheran  Church  holds  in  peculiar  purity,  over  against  the 
corruptions  of  Romanism,  the  extravagance  of  Radicalism,  the  per- 
versions of  Rationalism,  or  the  imperfect  development  of  theology. 
Such  are  the  doctrines  of  the  proper  inseparability  of  the  two  natures 
of  Christ,  both  as  to  time  and  space  (Art.  iii),  the  objective  force  of 
the  Word  and  Sacraments  (v),  the  reality  of  the  presence  of  both  the 
heavenly  and  earthly  elements  in  the  Lord's  Supper  (x),  the  true  value 
of  private,  that  is,  of  individual  absolution  (xi),  the  genuine  character 
of  sacramental  grace  (xill),  the  true  medium  in  regard  to  the  rites  of 
the  Church  (xv),  the  freedom  of  the  will  (xvii),  and  the  proper  doc- 
trine concerning  the  cause  of  sin  (xix).  On  all  these  points  the  Augs- 
burg Confession  presents  views  which,  either  in  matter  or  measure,  are 
opposed  to  extremes,  which  claim  to  be  Protestant  and  Evangelical. 
Pelagianizing,  Rationalistic,  Fatalistic,  Fanatical,  unhistorical  tenden- 
cies, which,  more  or  less  unconsciously,  have  revealed  themselves,  both 
in  Romanism  and  in  various  types  of  nominally  Evangelical  Protestant- 
ism, are  all  met  and  condemned  by  the  letter,  tenor,  or  spirit  of  these 
articles." 

9.  A  few  days  after  the  presentation  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,, 
the  Romish  theologians  were  directed  to  prepare  a  paper  as  an  answer. 
This  confutation  was  formally  presented  to  the  Diet  on  August  3.  It 
reviewed  in  regular  order  the  Articles  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  en- 
dorsing some  and  condemning  others.  The  Evangelical  princes  and 
theologians  almost  immediately  resolved  upon  a  formal  reply.  A  con- 
ference, however,  of  fourteen,  seven  representing  the  Lutherans,  and' 
seven  representing  the  Romanists,  was  first  held  (August  13 — 21),  in^ 
which  the  whole  subject  was  discussed,  but  no  satisfactory  result  was. 
reached.  The  preparation  of  the  Apology  was  entrusted  to  the  evan- 
gelical theologians  in  general,  although  circumstances  afterward  made 
it  the  peculiar  work  of  Melanchthon.     It  was  fortunate  that  the  Em-- 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.    97 

of  that  time.    And  because  such  matters  pertain  also 

peror  refused  to  accept  the  first  draught  of  the  Apology  offered  on 
September  22,  for  that  refusal  has  substituted  for  Melanchthon's  sketch 
the  Apology  as  we  now  have  it.  On  September  23,  Melanchthon  left 
Augsburg  with  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  at  once  began  to  elaborate 
still  further  the  Apology  upon  the  basis  of  his  former  draught.  His 
letters  from  November,  1530  to  April,  1531,  show  how  deeply  he  was 
absorbed  by  it.  Toward  the  close  of  April,  1 531,  the  first  edition  of 
the  Apology  appeared,  in  quarto,  bound  with  the  Augsburg  Confession. 
This  is  the  original  Latin  edition,  the  German  text,  translated  by  Justus 
Jonas,  under  the  supervision  and  with  the  co-operation  of  Melanchthon, 
not  appearing  until  in  October,  1531.  One  year  after  its  first  publica- 
tion, in  April,  1532,  at  the  Conference  held  at  Schweinfurth,  the  Apol- 
ogy was  publicly  approved  by  the  Evangelical  Estates  as  a  Confession 
of  Faith.  In  1537,  at  Smalcald,  the  Apology,  at  the  request  of  the 
Princes,  was  thoroughly  compared  with  the  Augsburg  Confession  by 
the  theologians,  and  then,  as  consonant  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  and 
the  Confession,y(?r;;m//j/  subscribed  by  them  with  the  declaration  that 
they  "  held  and  taught  in  their  churches  according  to  the  articles  of  the 
Confession  and  Apology." 

And  it  deserves  the  place  our  Church  has  given  to  it.  It  is  written 
with  an  inimitable  clearness,  distinctness  and  simplicity  which  must 
carry  conviction  alike  to  the  learned  and  unlearned.  It  is  more  than  a 
polemical  treatise.  The  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  with- 
out works,  is  established  by  Melanchthon  in  the  Apology  with  greater 
accuracy  than  anywhere  else.  In  doctrine  it  is  as  pure  as  the  Confes 
sion  to  whose  vindication  it  is  consecrated.  Dr.  Jacobs,  in  his  valuable 
Historical  Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Concord  truly  says  (vol.  2,  pp. 
41)  :  "To  one  charged  with  the  care  of  souls  the  frequent  reading  of 
the  Apology  is  invaluable,  on  account  of  the  manner  in  which  it  solves 
difficulties  connected  with  the  most  vital  points  in  Christian  experience  ; 
while  the  private  Christian,  although  perhaps  compelled  to  pass  by  some 
portions  occupied  with  learned  discussions,  will  find  in  many  —  we  may 
say,  in  most — parts,  what  is  in  fact  a  book  of  practical  religion." 

Of  the  second  and  third  chapters  of  the  Apology  (of  Justification, 
and  of  Love  and  the  Fulfilling  of  the  Law)  Philippi  says  {Kirch.  Gl. 
V.  I.,/,  36)  :  "  If  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  can  be  called  the  centre 
and  the  crown,  the  very  kernel  and  star,  of  the  entire  Scriptures,  so 
likewise  we  can  affirm  this  of  these  two  articles  of  the  Apology  in  their 


98  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  TttEOLOoV. 

to  the  laity  and  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  we  confes- 

relation  to  the  entire  contents  of  the  confessional  writings  of  our  Church, 
—  so  clearly  are  they  grounded  in  Scripture  and  experience,  so  triumph- 
ant, edifying,  and  consoling  is  their  development." 

lo.  The  Smalcald  Articles  were  prepared  in  the  expectation  that  a 
free  General  Council  would  beheld  in  Mantua,  May  23,  1537.  This 
council,  however,  did  not  convene  until  1545,  at  Trent,  and  then  was 
an  exclusive  Roman  Catholic  Council,  the  famous  Council  of  Trent 
(1545 — 1563).  The  Elector  of  Saxony  wished  to  have  a  new  statement 
of  the  great  doctrinal  principles  of  our  Church,  especially  touching  those 
questions  which  would  arise  at  the  Council  as  matters  of  discussion 
between  Lutherans  and  Romanists.  He,  therefore,  asked  Luther  to 
prepare  such  articles  as  a  basis,  and  to  report  before  January  25,  1537. 
These  articles  were  prepared  by  Luther,  and  having  been  approved  by 
his  colleagues,  were  sent  to  the  Elector,  January  3,  1537.  The  Articles 
thus  prepared  were  taken  to  the  Convention  of  the  Evangelical  States, 
held  at  Smalcald,  February,  1537.  There  they  were  thoroughly  exam- 
ined by  our  great  theologians  and  by  them  subscribed,  February  15, 
and  from  the  place  where  they  were  signed,  came  to  be  called  the 
S77ialcald  Articles.  The  reasons  why  this  new  Confession  was  pre- 
pared are  thus  stated  by  Dr.  Krauth  in  his  Conservative  Reform- 
ation {pp.  281 — 283):  \)'Y\it.  Augsburg  Confessio7t  had  too  much ^ 
in  some  respects,  for  the  object  in  view.  The  object  in  view,  in 
1537,  was  to  compare  the  points  of  controversy  between  the  Lutherans 

and  the  Romanists The  Augsburg  Confession  had  done  its 

great  work  in  correcting  misrepresentations  of  our  Church and 

it  was  now  desirable  that she  should  the  more  clearly  express 

herself  on  the  points  of  difference.  2)  The  Augsburg  Confession  has 
too  little  for  a  perfect  exhibition  of  the  full  position  of  our  Church  as  to 
the  errors  of  Rome.  3)  The  Augsburg  Confession  was  not  in  the  right 

key  for  the  work  now  to  be  done The  motion  of  the  A.  C.  was 

to  the  flute,  the  S.  A.  moved  to  the  peals  of  the  clarion,  and  the  roll  of 
the  kettle-drum.  In  the  A.  C.  truth  makes  her  overtures  of  peace,  in 
the  S.  A.  she  lays  down  her  ultimatum  in  a  declaration  of  war.  4)  That 
which  was  secondary  va  the  A.  C.  \s  primary  in  the  Smalcald  Articles. 

In  these  Articles  Luther  presents  directly  the  principles  of  the 

Evangelical  (Lutheran)  Church,  and  of  the  Romish  See.  in  their  con- 
flict." 

At  the  request  of  the  Elector,  Melanchthon  while  at  Smalcald,  pre- 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH,    99 

sionally  acknowledge  the  Small  and  Large  ^  ^  Cat- 
echisms of  Dr.  Luther,  as  they  are  included  in  Luther's 

pared  an  Appendix  to  the  Smalcald  Articles  on  "  The  Power  and  Pri- 
macy of  the  Pope,"  about  which  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  Apology 
are  silent.  Of  this  Appendix  Dr.  Schaff  in  his  Creeds  of  Christe7ido7n 
(vol  \,p.  256)  says  :  "The  Appendix  of  Melanchthon  is  a  theological 
masterpiece  for  his  age,  written  in  a  calm,  moderate,  and  scholarly 
tone,  refuting,  from  the  Bible  and  from  the  history  of  the  Early  Church, 
these  three  assumptions  of  the  Pope,  as  '  false,  impious,  tyrannical,  and 
pernicious  in  the  extreme,'  viz. :  i)  That  the  Pope,  as  the  Vicar  of 
Christ,  has  by  divine  right  supreme  authority  over  the  bishops  and  pas- 
tors of  the  whole  Christian  world ;  2)  That  he  has  by  divine  right  both 
swords,  that  is,  the  power  to  enthrone  and  dethrone  kings,  and  to  reg- 
ulate civil  affairs ;  3)  That  Christians  are  bound  to  believe  this  at  the 
risk  of  eternal  salvation.  He  also  shows  from  Scripture  and  from  Jerome 
that  the  power  and  jurisdiction  of  Bishops,  so  far  as  it  differs  from  that 
of  other  ministers,  is  of  human  origin,  and  has  been  grossly  abused  in 
connection  with  the  papal  tyranny." 

Of  the  Smalcald  Articles  and  Melanchthon's  Appendix,  Kollner  in 
his  Synibolik  says  :  "  For  our  Church  these  writings  must  ever  remain 
very  weighty,  and  the  more  because  outside  of  them  there  is  nowhere 
else  in  the  Symbols  so  ample  a  statement  about  the  Papacy,  and  what 
is  to  be  noted  well,  so  ample  a  statement  against  it "  (Quoted  by  Dr. 
Krauth  in  Conservative  Reformation,  p.  283). 

I  r.  In  chronological  order,  as  writings,  the  two  Catechisms,  which 
appeared  in  1529,  would  have  preceded  the  Augsburg  Confession,  fol- 
lowing directly  after  the  three  General  Creeds,  but  in  the  Book  of  Con- 
cord they  follow  the  Smalcald  Articles  because  of  their  later  symbolical 
authority.  During  his  visitation  of  the  Churches  of  Saxony  in  1528  and 
1529,  as  one  of  a  commission  appointed  by  the  Elector,  Luther  found 
the  religious  wants  of  the  people  greatly  neglected.  To  provide  for  this 
want  he  prepared  his  two  Catechisms.  The  question  which  of  the  two 
Catechisms  was  published  first,  has  been  differently  answered,  but  re- 
cent criticism  has  established  the  fact,  that  the  Larger  Catechism  ap- 
peared about  March  or  April,  1529,  while  the  Smaller  Catechisjn  was 
not  pubhshed  until  about  July  or  August,  1529.  Ahhough  these  two 
Catechisms  are  the  private  writings  of  Luther,  composed  by  him  on  his 
own  authority  and  solely  for  the  sake  of  instruction,  they  attained  syrri' 
bolical  authority  by  their  inherent  worth, 


100        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

works,  as  the  Bible  of  the  laity,  wherein  everything  is 
comprised  which  is  treated  at  greater  length  in  Holy 
Scripture,  and  is  necessary  that  a  Christian  man  know 
for  his  salvation." 

'*In  accordance  with  this  direction,  as  above  an- 
nounced, all  doctrines  should  be  adjusted,  and  that 
which  is  contrary  thereto  should  be  rejected  and  con- 
demned, as  opposed  to  the  unanimous  declaration  of 
our  faith." 

"In  this  way  the  distinction  between  the  Holy  Script- 
ures of  the  Old  and  of  the  New  Testament  and  all  other 
writings  is  preserved,  and  the  Holy  Scriptures  alone  re- 
main the  only  judge,  rule,  and  standard,  according  to 
which,  as  the  only  test-stone,  all  dogmas  should  and 
must  be  discerned  and  judged,  as  to  whether  they  be 
good  or  evil,  right  or  wrong." 

"But  the  other  Symbols  and  writings  cited  are  not 
judges,  as  the  Holy  Scriptures,  but  only  a  witness  and 
declaration  of  the  faith,  as  to  how  at  anytime  the  Hoh^ 
Scriptures  have  been  understood  and  explained  in  the 
articles  in  controversy  in  the  Church  of  God,  by  those 
who  then  lived,  and  by  what  arguments  the  dogmas 
conflicting  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  rejected  and 
condemned." 

Our  Confessions,  however,  are  regarded  as  decisive 
statements  for  that  which  is  valid  in  the  Church.  Thus 
the  Solid  Declnration,  the  second  part  of  the  Pormula 
of  Concord,  says  {Book  of  Concord,  vol.  l,p.  537,  lo) : 
"By  what  has  thus  far  been  said  concerning  the  sum- 
mary of  our  Christian  doctrine  we  have  only  meant 
that  we  have  a  unanimously  received,  definite,  common 
form  of  doctrine,  which  our  Evangelical  churches  to- 
gether and  in  common  confess  ;  from  and  according  to 
which,  because  it  has  beei]  derived  from  Gpd's  Word,  all 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.   101 

other  writings  should  bejudged  and  adjusted  as  to  how 
far  they  are  to  be  approved  and  accepted." 

From  the  statement  of  the  Formula  of  Concord^'- 
that  creeds  ''  are  not  judges,  as  are  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
but  only  a  witness  and  declaration  of  the  faith"  (p. 
492,  8 ),  the  inference  has  been  drawn  that  we  can  set 

12.  The  history  of  the  preparation  of  the  Formula  of  Concord  may 
be  divided  into  three  parts  :  I.  The  events  which  rendered  necessary 
the  preparation  of  a  new  Confession,  i.  The  first  cause  were  the  vacil- 
lations of  Melanchthon.  He  thought  that  peace  could  be  restored  by 
ambiguous  formulas,  accepted  indeed  by  both  parties,  but  understood 
in  different  senses.  The  three  works  of  Melanchthon  in  which  the 
changes  were  most  noted  and  most  mischievous  are  a)  the  Augsburg 
Confession  ;  b")  the  Apology ;  and  c)  his  Loci  Conijnunes.  2.  The  sec- 
ond cause  was  the  conflict  between  the  Philippists  or  adherents  of  ' 
Melanchthon,  and  the  more  consistent  Lutherans.  Unfortunately  much 
that  Melanchthon  wrote  could  be  taken  in  two  senses.  We  have  28 
large  volumes  of  Melanchthon's  writings,  and  at  this  hour,  impartial 
and  learned  men  are  not  agreed  as  to  what  were  his  views  on  some  of 
the  profoundest  questions  of  Church  doctrine,  on  which  Melanchthon 
was  writing  all  his  life.  3.  Another  reason  why  a  new  Confession  was 
necessary  arose  from  the  controversy  furnished  by  the  Melanchthonian 
Corpus  Doctrines  of  1 560,  to  which  the  adherents  of  Melanchthon  de- 
sired to  give  confessional  authority,  an  effort  which  was  resisted  by  the 
consistent  Lutherans  on  the  ground  a)  that  it  was  largely  composed  of 
private  writings  on  which  no  official  action  of  the  Church  had  been 
taken  ;  b)  that  the  texts  of  its  most  important  parts  were  greatly 
changed  and  corrupted  ;  and  c)  that  it  was  ambiguous  on  some  vital 
points,  and  unsound  on  others.  4.  Another  reason  lay  in  the  fact  that 
the  Wittenberg  theologians  embodied  Crypto- Calvinistic  doctrines  in 
their  various  writings.  5.  This  alarming  state  of  things  (1569)  led  to 
various  consultations  on  the  part  of  our  theologians,  who  were  very 
anxious  to  save  the  Church  from  internal  discord.  Chief  among  them 
were  James  Andrese  {d.  1590),  Martin  Chemnitz  {d.  1586),  David 
Chytrceus  {d.  1600),  and  Nicholas  Selneccer  {d.  1592),  all  of  them  great 
theologians,  moderate  in  spirit,  earnest  Christians,  and  intensely  devo- 
ted to  the  purity  and  peace  of  the  Church.  6.  In  1673  James  Andrea? 
prepared  an  exposition  of  the  existing  controversies.  Taking  this  "  Ex- 


102  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

them  aside  at  pleasure,  and  still  be  consistent  Luther- 
position  "  as  a  basis  Chemnitz  and  Chytrseus  elaborated  it,  and  in  1575 
it  appeared  as  the  Suabian-Saxon  Formula  of  Concord.  It  was  this 
formula  which  became  a  general  ground-work  of  the  Formula  of  Con- 
cord. 

II.  The  second  part  of  the  history  of  the  preparation  of  the  Form- 
ula of  Concord  treats  of  the  events  terminating  in  the  preparation  of  the 
Torgau  Formula  of  1576.  i.  In  1575  Elector  Augustus  asked  for  a 
clear  statement  of  the  points  at  issue.  This  was  furnished  him  in  a 
paper,  which  was  simply  an  abridgment  of  the  Suabian-Saxon  Form- 
ula, with  proof  passages  from  Scripture,  and  citations  from  Luther 
added.  2.  This  document  was  submitted  to  a  number  of  theologians, 
delegates  of  the  various  princes,  at  a  convention  held  at  the  cloister  of 
Maulbrunn,  January  19,  1576.  It  was  examined  and  approved  by  them 
and  is  known  as  the  Maulbrunn  Formula,  3.  In  May,  1576  there  was 
a  convention  of  18  theologians,  of  different  lands,  at  Torgau.  The  most 
distinguished  were  Andrea?,  Chytraeus,  Chemnitz,  Selneccer,  Musculus, 
and  Koerner.  They  examined  carefully  the  Suabian-Saxon  Formula  of 
1 575,  and  its  abridgment,  the  Maulbrunn  Formula,  and  resolved  to  form 
a  new  formula  on  the  basis  of  the  Suabain- Saxon  Formula.  Thus  orig- 
inated the  Formula  of  Torgau,  in  1576,  after  the  toils  and  anxieties  of 
seven  years. 

III.  The  third  period  of  the  history  of  the  Formula  of  Concord 
opens  with  the  sending  forth  of  the  Torgau  Formula  for  examination 
by  the  Churches  (1576),  and  ends  with  the  publication  of  the  Book  of 
Concord,  1580.  i.  The  Formula  of  Torgau  was  everywhere  received 
with  interest.  In  the  course  of  three  months  20  conventions  of  theol- 
ogians were  held.  The  Formula  was  scrutinized  in  every  part.  The  great 
mass  of  the  25  responses  testified  to  a  general  approval  of  the  Formula, 
but  it  was  clear  that  the  document  had  not  yet  reached  the  shape  in 
which  It  could  fully  meet  the  wants  of  the  Church.  2.  As  soon  as  these 
answers  were  received,  the  Elector  Augustus  called  together  the  three 
greatest  of  the  co-workers,  Chemnitz  of  Brunswick,  Andreae  of  Tue- 
bingen,  and  Selneccer  of  Leipsic,  to  revise  the  Torgau  Formula  in  the 
light  of  the  expressed  judgments  of  the  Churches.  They  met  at  the 
cloister  of  Bergen,  near  Magdeburg.  Here  the  Torgau  Formula  was 
submitted  to  its  frsl  revision,  March  i — 14,  1577.  3.  The  second  and 
yf«a/ revision  took  place  at  the  same  place.  May  19—28,  1577.  But  to 
the  first  Trii4mvirate,Chytraius,  Musculus,  and  Koerner,  had  been  added, 


CHtTRCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.  103 

ans.  On  this  point  Dr.  Krauth  says  i  ^ ;  "  The  setting 
aside  of  a  creed  either  involves  setting  aside  its  doc- 
trines; or  it  does  not.  If  the  doctrines  of  a  creed  are  ever 
true,  they  are  always  true,  and  hence  we  cannot  set 
aside  the  doctrines  of  a  true  creed  without  setting  aside 
the  truth  itself.  If  it  be  said,  we  are  going  to  set  aside 
the  creed,  while  v^e  retain  its  doctrines,  w^e  can  only 
justify  ourselves  in  this  by  showing  that  we  can  make  a 
gain  for  the  truth  by  a  new  statement  of  it.  A  new  creed 
must  either  embrace  the  same  as  the  old,  or  something 
conflicting  with  the  old,  or  something  less  than  the  old, 
or  something  more  than  the  old.  A  creed  to  embrace 
the  same,  is  confessedly  no  gain  as  to  the  matter.  A 
new  creed  can  only  conflict  with  a  true  old  one,  by  con- 
flicting with  the  truth  itself.  A  creed  which  has  less  than 
a  true  one,  has  less  truth  than  the  old,  and  if  we  need 
the  creed  to  say  more  than  the  old,  all  experience  has 
shown  that  it  is  best  to  let  the  old  stand  and  supple- 
ment it  with  the  new.  Our  Church  has  never  prepared 
a  new  creed  to  take  the  place  of  an  old  one.  If  the  defi- 
nition of  our  creeds,  given  in  the  Formula  ot  Concord, 
stands,  then  the  creeds  themselves  must  stand,  until 
other  creeds  more  happily  stating  the  same  doctrines, 
shall  be  produced.  But  without  exception,  the  men  who 
wish  new  creeds  to  take  the  place  of  old  ones,  reall3' 
wish  to  have  new  doctrines  to  take  the  place  of  the  old." 

Though  they  examined  the  Formula  with  minute  care,  they  found  little 
to  change.  4.We  now  know  it  as  the  Bergen  Formula,  but  it  was  to  be 
known  in  history  as  the  Formula  of  Concord,  for  this  it  was.  Between 
this  time  and  its  publication  in  1580,  in  the  Book  of  Concord,  no  change 
whatever  was  made  in  it.  (On  the  history  of  the  Formula  of  Concord, 
see  especially  Ay^aiz^Z/^'i-  Conservatz'ae  Reformation,  pp.  289 — 828,  from 
which  this  note  has  been  condensed.  Also  Jacobs  Book  of  Concord, 
vol.  lypp.  51 — 61,  and  the  literature  there  cited). 
13.     See  his  Manuscript  Lectures. 


104  iNTRODtJCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Subscriptions  to  the  Confessions  are  classified  as  quia 
and  quatenus,i.e.,  **  because  they  agree  with  Scripture," 
and  '^so  far  as  they  agree  with  the  Scripture."  The  latter 
mode  is  an  evasion,  because  men  holding  the  most  di- 
verse views  of  doctrine  might  then  subscribe  our  Confes- 
sions.^* Fidelity  to  the  Confessions  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  right  of  private  judgment.  All  we  ask  is,  that 
if  a  man's  private  judgment  of  the  Word  of  God  does 
not  make  him  believe  the  Lutheran  doctrine  as  witnes- 
sed by  our  Church  in  her  Confessions,  he  should  not 
pretend  to  be  a  Lutheran,  he  should  not  apply  for  ordi- 
nation in  order  to  minister  at  her  altars,  and  if  as  a 
minister  of  the  Church  he  have  abandoned  the  faith  of 
the  Church,  he  has  no  right  to  use  her  name  as  his  shel- 
ter in  undermining  the  faith  of  those  to  whom  he  mini- 
sters. It  is  not  enough  if  such  a  one  maintains  that  the 
view  he  holds  is  clear  to  his  private  judgment.  He  has 
no  right  to  enter  or  remain  in  any  Christian  Church,  ex- 
cept as  its  terms  of  membership  give  him  that  right. 

In  these  days  of  laxity  of  doctrine  and  protest 
against  Confessionalism  it  is  well  to  consider  the  pointed 
statements  of  Dr.  Plitt^^ :  ''It  is  as  impossible  for  the 
Church  to  be  without  a  Confession  as  without  preach- 
ing and  divine  service ;  and  sooner  or  later  the  summons 
must  come  to  the  entire  Church  or  an  individual  part  of 
it  to  give  to  its  Confession  not  only  a  clear,  but  also  an 

established  and  definite  expression It  is  the  facts 

of  her  experience  of  salvation  which  the  Church,  so  far 
as  she  has  become  acquainted  with  them,  brings  into 

expression The  knowledge  of  these  manifold  facts 

is  only  very  gradually  attained The  particular 

14.  See  Jacobs'  Book  0/  Concord,  vol.  2,  /.  13. 

15.  In  his  Einleitung  in  die  Augustatia,  vol.  i,  pp.  3 — 16.  2  vols.  Erlangen, 
1867 — 68.  We  condense  from  the  translation  given  by  Dr.  Jacobs  in  Book  0/ 
Coticordy  vol.  2,  pp.  313 — 321. 


CHtJRCH  DOCTRINE  AND  StJB  JECTIVE  CONSClOtSNESS  OF  FAITH.  1 05 

agents  of  this  work  of  attaining  knowledge  are  persons 
standing  in  the  faith  of  the  Church  and  constrained  by 
God's  Spirit,  as  God  generally  effects  all  progress  in 
Church  history,  through  persons  filled  with  the  Spirit. 

Moreover,  since  the  Church  is  no  longer  at  the 

beginning  of  her  development  and  of  her  activity  in  the 
framing  of  dogmas,  these  agents  will  enter  into  close 
connection  with  the  past  of  the  Church,  and,  appropri- 
ating what  the  Church  has  received  from  the  labor  of 
the  fathers  as  a  permanent  possession  of  knowledge, 
will  make  still  further  inquiry 

All  progress  in  knowledge,  if  it  be  healthy,  connects 
itself  with  what  has  been  learned  before,  and  amplifies 

or  corrects  it It  is  clear  that  the  times,  when  the 

life  of  the  Church  flows  on  in  a  calm,  even  current,  are 
not  adapted  to  a  further  definition  and  settlement  of  the 
Church's  doctrine.  This  occurs  when  a  fact  of  salvation 
is  called  into  question  by  adversaries,  or  even  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  or  is  apprehended  in  such  a  manner 
that  Christian  experience  of  salvation  thereby  sufiers 
injury.  Then  the  Church  arises  to  defend  her  treasure 
and  repel  the  error,  which  is  not  so  offensive  to  the  un- 
derstanding as  it  is  dangerous  to  souls.  It  becomes 
then  the  ofl&ce  of  persons  full  of  the  Spirit  to  enter  into 
the  conflict,  and  with  prayer  and  investigation  to  begin 

the  work The  course  of  the  controversy  which 

will  claim  the  entire  sympathy  of  the  Church  moves 
only  by  means  of  antagonisms,  for  almost  all  Christian 
facts  of  salvation  have  a  double  side,  a  divine  and  a 
human,  which  are  not  to  be  made  prominent  only  on  the 
one  side,  but  their  harmonious  connection  with  each 
other  requires  to  be  properly  adjusted  also  on  the  part 
of  the  understanding.  Before  this  happens  the  Church 
does  not  really  attain  tranquility 


106  INTitODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGV. 

Although  the  Church  is  constantly  changing  in  her 
members,  she  builds  herself  up  by  constantly  sinking 
deeper  into  these  divine  truths ;  by  instruction  she  im- 
plants them  into  the  hearts  of  the  children  growing  up 
within  her,  and  makes  confession  of  them  also  before 
those  who  do  not  yet  belong  to  her,  that  they  may  be- 
come life-truths  also  to  them.  .  .  .  This  testimony  is  an 
expression  of  the  life  of  the  Church,  without  which  she 
could  not  be  conceived  of.  Just  on  this  account  she  does 
not  commit  to  chance  or  to  the  inclination  of  an  individ- 
ual the  issuing  of  such  a  testimony,  but  she  herself  un- 
dertakes this  task  and  fulfils  it,  through  a  permanent 
office,  through  officially-appointed  witnesses ;  whereby 
however,  it  is  not  meant  that  other  members  also  of  the 
Church,  whom  the  Spirit  of  Christ  impels,  could  not  be 
qualified  and  would  not  be  justified  in  acting  as  witnes- 
ses. It  is  manifest,  then,  that  the  official  witnesses, who, 
in  what  comprises  the  fulfillment  of  the  calling  pertain- 
ing to  the  entire  Church,  dare  not  exercise  a  work  of 
their  own  inclination,  but  they  who  stand  there  in  the 
service  of  the  Church,  have  to  act  only  in  the  sense  of 
the  Church.  As  to  what,  therefore,  concerns  the  doctrine, 
they  are  throughout  pointed  to  that  which  is  firmty 
established  as  the  faith  of  the  congregation  and  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Church,  and  which  is  delivered  to  them  in  this 
capacity  through  the  Confessions  of  the  Church.  The 
Confessions  are  to  them  the  norm  of  their  official  activ- 
ity. .  .  .  By  this  obligation  required  of  the  teachers  no 
violence  is  done  them.  For  the  Church  has  not  compel- 
led them  to  accept  the  doctrines,  but  they  have  offered 
themselves  to  her  for  a  service  which  the  Church  will 
not  prevent  them  from  abandoning  at  any  moment.  If, 
however,  she  has  accepted  their  offer,  she  has  done  so 
upon  the  presumption  that  they  who  desire  her  minister- 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.  107 

ial  office  are  also  one  with  her  in  the  faith.  .  .  .  He  who 
in  the  true  sense  is  chtirchly ,  and  at  the  same  time  of  a 
sincere  heart,  will  not  complain  of  the  constraint  of  the 
symbols^  6.  But  to  him  who  in  the  heart  does  not  stand 
in  the  centre  of  the  faith  of  the  Church,  or  who  in  the 
progress  of  knowledge  has  fallen  into  error,  the  symbol 
becomes  of  course  a  law ;  it  is  to  him  strange  and  more 
or  less  incomprehensible.  He  experiences  now  constraint, 
as  he  ought.  No  one  can  expect  the  Church  to  leave  it 
to  the  option  of  the  individual  as  to  how  he  should  ex- 
ercise his  office  of  testimony  and  confession.  ...  As  she 
cannot  know  either  whether  all  who  apply  for  service 
in  her  ministry  do  this  from  a  sincere  heart,  or  whether 
all  her  teachers  will  in  the  future  be  preserved  from  er- 
ror, she  must  at  least  maintain  her  rights  and  protect 
the  welfare  of  the  whole,  so  far  as  it  is  possible,  against 
the  subjective  arbitrariness  of  the  individual.  The  obli- 
gation to  the  symbols  becomes  necessary,  and  just 
those  teachers  of  the  Church  who  are  the  loudest  in 
their  complaints  of  it  as  an  intolerable  constraint  prove 

thereby  how  necessary  it  is 

The  teacher  who  enters  into  the  service  of  the  Church 
is  actually  free  with  respect  to  the  symbols  when  he 
truly  shares  the  faith  of  the  Church,  and  is  thus  in  a  full 
sense  a  living  member  of  it.  This  true  freedom  he  may, 
in  case  of  necessity,  exercise  even  with  respect  to  the 

symbols The  teacher  who  is  convinced  that  he 

has  discovered  a  more  suitable  form  has  not  only  the 
right,  but  it  is  his  duty,  to  bring  this  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  Church ;  and  no  intelligent  person  will  see  in  his 
activity,  directed  to  the  improvement  of  the  Church's 
doctrine,  any  opposition  to  the  same That  the 

i6.  '•  No  one  who  is  true  to  the  Augsburg  Confession  will  complain  of  these 
writings,  but  will  cheerfully  accept  and  tolerate  them  as  witnesses  of  the  truth"  {F, 
C,  p.  538,  "). 


108  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

one  making  an  innovation  will  act  with  great  prudence 
and  forbearance  is  self-evident,  provided  he  is  at  heart 
in  a  right  relation  to  the  Church.  Above  all,  he  will  re- 
gard it  a  matter  of  great  moment  to  investigate  aright 
the  symbol  itself  before  he  comes  forward  with  his  op- 
position. He  will  not  only  with  all  conscientiousness 
read,  but  will  also  study  it,  in  order,  so  far  as  it  is  pos- 
sible, to  grasp  its  true  sense ;  he  will  examine  it  accord- 
ing to  the  not  generally  easily  observed  distinction 
between  what,  on  the  one  hand,  belongs  to  the  matter 
concerned  and  its  simple  designation,  and,  on  the  other, 
what  may  be  a  purely  temporal  addition.  Such  an  in- 
vestigation of  the  earnest  labor  of  the  fathers  as  would 
be  not  merely  scientific  would  itself  admonish  still  more 
humility  and  modesty. 

Thus  it  is  also  clear  that  the  current  talk  about  the 
insufficiency  of  the  symbols  cannot  in  the  least  be  sup- 
ported. This,  too,  often  proceeds  from  those  who  them- 
selves do  not  share  in  the  faith  of  the  Church,  and,  just 
on  that  account,  are  incapable  of  comprehending  the 
true  sense  of  her  Confession ;  and  with  their  voice  there 
accords  that  of  a  large  number  of  such  as  have  scarcely 
superficially  read  the  Confessions,  not  to  say  studied 
them It  is  manifest,  therefore,  of  how  great  im- 
portance it  must  be  to  the  minister  of  the  Church  to 
obtain  the  best  possible  understanding  of  her  Confes- 
sions. But  it  will  certainly  become  clear  likewise  that 
this  knowledge  is  attained  not  so  much  by  the  study  of 
the  later  dogmatics,  as  by  the  investigation  and  study, 
on  all  sides,  of  the  period  in  which  these  documents  or- 
iginated. As  they  are  the  result  of  an  historical  develop- 
ment, the  attempt  ought  to  be  made  to  comprehend  this 
in  all  its  tendencies." 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.  109 
3.     The  Church  Doctrine  as  consisting  of  Articles  of  Faith, 

Hollaz  defines  an  article  of  faith  as  '*a  part  of  the 
doctrine  revealed  in  the  written  Word  of  God,  concern- 
ing God  and  divine  things,  set  forth  to  be  believed  by  the 
sinner  to  his  salvation." 

These  Articles  of  Faith  are  divided,  according  to  their 
contents  into  ''pure"  and  ''mixed"  articles. 

Pure  articles  of  faith  treat  of  those  divine  mysteries 
which  transcend  the  capacity  of  unaided  human  reason, 
which  yet  are  divinely  revealed  in  the  Word  of  God  and 
are  simply  matters  of  faith,  as  the  article  concerning  the 
Trinity,  the  union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in 
Christ,  etc. 

Mixed  articles  are  those  parts  of  Christian  doctrine 
which  are  known  to  some  extent  from  the  light  of  nat- 
ure, as  the  being  and  attributes  of  God,  etc.  Quenstedt, 
however,  says  of  such  mixed  articles,  that  "they  are  not 
believed  so  far  as  they  are  known  by  the  light  of  nature, 
but  in  so  far  as  they  are  known  by  divine  revelation." 
The  mixed  articles  coalesce  with  the  so-called  religion  of 
nature.  "  Rationalism,"  says  Hase,  "  finds  the  source  of 
Christianity  in  the  mixed  articles,  in  the  pure,  only  the 
phenomenon." 

According  to  their  importance,  articles  of  faith  are 
divided  into  "fundamental"  and  "non-fundamental" 
articles. 

The  "fundamental"  articles  are  those  which  are  in- 
timately connected  with  the  foundation  of  the  faith, 
which  cannot  be  unknown,  or  at  least  not  denied,  con- 
sistently with  faith  and  salvation. 

"  The  foundation  of  the  faith"  is  either  substantial 
or  dogmatic.  The  "substantial"  foundation  of  the  faith 
and  salvation  is  Christ,  since  he  is  the  meritorious  cause 
oi  obtaining  froni  God  forgiveness  of  sins  and  eternal 


110  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

life.  The  "  dogmatic  "  foundation  of  the  faith  is  the  col- 
lection of  doctrines  divinely  revealed,  by  v^hich  Christ, 
the  substantial  foundation  of  the  faith,  and  the  sources 
and  means  of  salvation  necessarily  connected  therev^ith, 
are  set  forth.  But  the  substantial  and  the  dogmatic 
foundation  of  the  faith  are  not  two  foundations  essen- 
tially contradistinguished  from  each  other,  nor  do  they 
differ  as  to  their  subject-matter.  For  Christ  is  the 
foundation,  as  to  the  subject-matter ;  the  doctrine  con- 
cerning Christ  is  the  foundation,  as  to  our  knowledge 
(Hollaz). 

The  "fundamental"  articles  are  divided  into  "pri- 
mary fundamental"  articles,  without  the  knowledge  of 
which  no  one  can  attain  unto  eternal  salvation,  or 
which  must  be  known  in  order  for  any  one  to  hold  the 
foundation  of  the  faith  and  secure  salvation,  and  the 
"secondary fundamental"  articles, which  one  maybe  ig- 
norant of,  but  dare  not  deny,  much  less  oppose, without 
injury  to  the  foundation  of  the  faith  {Quenstedt) . 

The  "  primary  fundamental "  articles  are  subdivided 
into  1)  constituent,  2)  antecedent,  and  3)  consequent 
articles  of  faith. 

The  "constituent"  articles  of  faith  are  those  which 
immediately  and  most  nearly  relate  to  our  salvation, 
and  intrinsically  constitute  and  cause  faith,  such  as  the 
doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  of  Sin,  of  the  Word  of  God,  of 
Regeneration,  of  Conversion,  of  Justification,  of  the  uni- 
versal Atonement  and  Merits  of  Christ,  of  Faith,  etc. 

The  "antecedent"  articles  are  those  which  do  not, 
indeed  cause  justifying  and  saving  faith,  nor  are  abso- 
lutely and  immediately  necessary  to  its  existence,  but 
which  are,  nevertheless,  necessary  to  the  complete  and 
permanent  establishment  of  those  doctrines  which  pro- 
duce and  constitute  faith,  as  the  doctrines  of  the  exist- 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.  Ill 

ence  of  God,  of  Divine  Revelation,  of  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  of  the  Sinfulness  of  Man,  of  the  Divine  and  Hu- 
man Natures  of  Christ,  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Dead, 
of  the  Last  Judgment,  etc. 

The  ** consequent"  articles  are  those  v^hich  so  neces- 
sarily follow  established  faith,  that  if  they  be  not  held, 
faith  itself  again  is  lost,  as  the  doctrines  of  the  Eternal 
Duration  of  God,  the  Executive  Justice  of  God,  the  Regal 
Office  of  Christ,  of  Baptism,  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  Mys- 
tical Union,  of  Sanctification,  of  the  Church,  etc.  (After 
HoUaz). 

The  "secondary  fundamental"  articles  are  those,  a 
simple  v^ant  of  acquaintance  with  which  does  not  pre- 
vent our  salvation,  but  the  pertinacious  denial  of,  and 
hostility  to,  will  overturn  the  foundation  of  faith,  as 
the  characteristic  peculiarities  of  the  Divine  Persons,  of 
the  Intercommunication  of  Attributes  in  Christ,  of  Orig- 
inal Sin,  of  Predestination,  etc. 

The  ''non-fundamental"  articles  of  faith  are  parts  of 
the  Christian  doctrine  which  one  maybe  ignorant  of,  or 
deny,  and  yet  be  saved,  as  the  question  of  the  Time  of 
Creation,  of  the  Cause  of  the  Fall  of  the  Angels,  of  the 
Character  of  Antichrist,  of  the  Origin  of  the  Soul,  etc. 
But  at  the  same  time  we  must  be  careful  even  in  the 
treatment  of  these  articles,  because  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances these  non-fundamental  articles  may  become 
in  their  relation  to  other  articles,  fundamental. 

This  distinction  between  ''fundamental"  and  "non- 
fundamental"  articles  has  been  drawn  by  our  dogma- 
ticians  to  make  clear  the  doctrinal  differences  between 
the  Lutheran  Church,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Reformed 
and  Roman  Catholic  Churches,  on  the  other  side. 

To  the  true  unity  of  the  Church  a  hearty  and  honest 
consent  is  required  in  the  fundamental  Articles  of  Faith. 


112        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

But  here  the  question  arises  what  doctrines  are  funda- 
mental? Philippi  says^ :  ''  The  expiatory  death  of  the 
God-man,  through  which  the  restoration  of  communion 
with  God  is  imparted,  and  upon  which  it  is  founded, 
forms  both  the  centre  and  the  foundation  of  salvation. 
.  .  .  Dogmatic  theology  is  nothing  more  than  the  devel- 
opment, in  its  various  directions,  of  this  central  funda- 
mental doctrine The  one  fundamental '  doctrine 

forming  the  centre  sets  forth  in  itself  the  various  ideas 
and  doctrines  of  salvation  that  it  contains ;  and  there- 
fore everything  thus  developed  by  inner  necessity  from 
this  centre  is  just  as  fundamental  as  the  centre  itself 
Thus,  about  the  central  fundamental  doctrine  (the  con- 
stitutive article,  specially  so  called)  the  entire  collection 
of  peripheral  fundamental  doctrines  (consecutive  ar- 
ticles) is  formed,  which  again,  on  their  part,  enclose  the 
centre  in  wider  or  narrower  concentric  circles.  .  .  .There 
is,  therefore,  a  continuous  series  of  divine  fundamental 
facts,  and  of  divine  fundamental  testimonies  correspond- 
ing to  these  facts,  which  taken  together  extend  back  to 
the  centre,  namely,  the  fact  of  redemption  and  the  doc- 
trine of  redemption,  and  proceed  therefrom But 

we  have  to  consider  not  only  the  distinction  between 
the  central  and  the  concentric  or  peripheral,  but  also  the 
distinction  between  that  which  is  immediately  Rnd  that 
which  is  mediately  fundamental.  To  the  '  immediately 
fundamental'  belong  all  such  doctrines  as  relate  to 
divine  facts  v^rhich  still  continue  to  form  the  ground  of 
our  salvation,  —  the  facts  of  creation,  of  redemption, 
and  of  sanctification.    Here  there  is  indeed  that  which 

I.  Kirchl.  Glbslehre.  I.  (Third  Edition),  pp.  112 — 115.  For  a  translation  of 
this  whole  discussion  of  Philippi  on  "What  is  a  fundamental  Doctrine  ? "  {pp. 
112 — 124),  see  Jacobs'  Book  of  Concord ^  vol.  2,  pp.  321 — 327.  On  the  general  sub- 
ject compare  Rudelbach's  Reformation^  Lutherthum  tind  Lhiion,  Chap.  12,  //. 
540—608. 


CHUllCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.  113 

is  central  and  peripheral,  but  all  is  immediately  funda- 
mental. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  *  mediate  fundamental '  doc- 
trines are  such  as  either  refer  to  divine  facts,  v^hich,  if 
they  formerly  constituted  the  foundation  of  our  salva- 
tion, constitute  it  no  longer  (as  the  original  creation  in 
the  divine  image),  or  as  are  not  properly  acts  pertain- 
ing to  salvation,  but  only  acts  preparatory  to  those 
of  salvation,  or  acts  of  judgment  following  the  re- 
jection of  the  acts  of  salvation ;  or  as  refer  to  human 
acts  (as  the  original  and  continued  fall  of  man  from 
God),  to  v^hich  the  divine  facts  of  judgment  and  salva- 
tion stand  in  the  closest  relation.  But  even  these  'me- 
diate fundamental '  doctrines  still  remain  fundamental 
doctrines,  in  so  far  as  they  not  only  are  inwardly  con- 
nected with  the  immediate  peripheral  fundamental  doc- 
trines, but  also  have  been  organically  developed  with 
them  from  the  one  central  fundamental  doctrine;  so 
that  a  holding  in  its  purity  of  these  doctrines,  or  an  al- 
teration of  the  same,  must  be  reciprocal,  as  has  actually 
been  found  to  occur." 

On  the  other  hand  Frank  ^  says,  and  in  substance 
with  him  agrees  Luthardt:  '^A  new  elaboration  of  the 
doctrine  of  fundamental  statements  is  certainly  needed, 
since  the  form  of  the  same  thus  far  presented  from 
Nicholas  Hunnius  to  Philippi  is  objectionable  from  the 
fact  that  it  seeks  mostly  to  draw  the  distinction  ac- 
cording to  an  entirely  objective  rule,  according  to  the 

knowledge  necessary  for  salvation In  fact,  the 

dogmaticians,  in  drawing  the  distinction  between  fun- 

2.  In  his  Theologie  der  Concordienformely  vol.  i,  //.  17 — 20.  Erlangen, 
1858.  This  passage  is  also  translated  by  Dr.  Jacobs  in  Book  of  Concord,  vol.  2, 
pp.  327 — 329,  (Philippi,  in  his  third  edition,  in  a  foot-note  (/.  124)  remarks,  that 
as  far  as  he  can  see,  there  is  an  essential  agreement  between  Frank  and  himself, 
and  that  the  only  difference  is  that  his  own  presentation  is  developed  further). 


114  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

damentals  and  non-fundamentals,  have  not  manifested 
a  very  clear  perception — not  merely  that  they  are  everj^- 
where  in  doubt  as  to  whether  to  designate  a  doctrine  as 
non-fundamental,  and  evidently  do  not  agree  with  each 
other  in  the  statement  of  the  same,  but  even  when  they 
have  taken  courage  to  name  a  doctrine  as  non-funda- 
mental,—  as,  for  example,  that  of  the  Immortality  of 
Man  before  the  Fall,  that  of  the  Sin  and  Eternal  Dam- 
tion  of  the  Wicked  Angels,  or  of  Antichrist,  —  they  im- 
mediately add  one  restriction  to  another,  whereby  the 
denial  of  such  article  may  be  prejudicial  to  the  condi- 
tions of  salvation 

That  which  is  absolutely  fundamental  is  only  one, 
namely,  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  this  occurs 
in  an  organic  way.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  living,  all-pene- 
trating centre,  the  kernel  and  star  of  the  entire  Holy 
Scriptures.  Every  part  of  revelation  depends  organic- 
ally, and  after  the  manner  of  members,  upon  him.  Thus 
viewed,  everything  is  fundamental,  and  just,  as  in  refer- 
ence to  the  law  of  the  Lord  he  who  sins  in  one  point  is 
guilty  of  all,  so  also  especially  in  reference  to  the  revela- 
tion of  salvation,  he  who  attacks  a  single  member,  offers 
violence  to  the  whole  organism  itself  and  to  its  Head. 
And,  thus  considered,  there  still  remains  only  one  thing 
that  is  fundamental ;  for  as  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law,  and  all  else  is  comprehended  in  this  one  thing,  so 
also  he  who  believes  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  has  the 
entire  organism  of  salvation,  with  all  else  comprised  in 
it  which  is  necessary  for  blessedness. 

The  question,  according  to  the  change  from  that 
which  is  relative  in  the  fundamental  to  that  which  is 
absolute,  is,  then,  to  be  decided  in  accordance  with  the 
position,  at  the  time,  of  the  believing  individual  to  the 
organism  of  salvation.    If  an  individual  Christian  or  a 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.  115 

Christian  congregation  has  at  any  time  learned  to  know 
any  part  of  the  saving  revelation  as  a  member  of  the 
organism,  this  part,  whether  it  appear  in  itself  large  or 
small,  becomes  to  that  individual  or  congregation  for- 
ever fundamental.  For  with  the  despising  or  rejection  of 
even  the  least  matter  there  is  a  despising  and  rejection 
of  the  organism  itself,  whose  life  supports  and  passes 
through  even  those  things  which  are  least.  The  Church, 
which  in  its  course  through  the  world  has  recognized, 
and  in  its  symbols  has  fixed  as  such,  one  portion  of  sav- 
ing truth  after  another,  can  therefore  consider  none  of 
the  same  otherwise  than  fundamental. 

For  the  Church,  I  say,  everything  is  fundamental 
that  it  has  obtained,  in  reference  to  doctrine,  from  the 
Scriptures  and  has  fixed  in  its  Confessional  writings ; 
and  here  is  the  point  in  which  every  union  in  doctrine 
between  two  churches  must  be  frustrated.  But  in  the 
Church  there  exists  partly  that  which  is  equally,  partly 
that  which  is  less,  and  partly  also  that  which  is  more, 
fundamental  than  that  of  the  Church  itself.  Of  the 
shepherds  and  teachers  of  the  Church  such  a  degree  of 
knowledge  must  as  a  rule  be  required,  that  to  them 
everything,  even  to  the  least  point,  is  fundamental 
which  is  fundamental  to  the  Church. 

But  of  the  laity  only  such  a  degree  of  faith  is,  as  a 
rule,  to  be  demanded  that,  founded  upon  that  which  is 
absolutely  fundamental,  they  may  gradually  grow  up, 
under  the  training  of  the  Church,  to  the  heights  of 
Churchly  knowledge. 

Finally,  in  a  still  smaller  number,  whose  personal 
knowledge  of  salvation  is  more  comprehensive  than 
that  of  the  Church,  the  extent  of  that  which  is  funda- 
mental is  increased  in  proportion  as  they  have  entered, 
in  a  still  greater  degree  than  the  Confession,  into  the 
depths  and  remote  places  of  the  organism  of  salvation." 


116  INTKODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

4.  The  Fundamental  Principles  of  Faith  of  the  General  Council 
of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  North  America  1. 

The  growth  of  Church  consciousness  has  been  a 
marked  feature  of  the  later  Hfe  of  the  Lutheran  Church 

I.  The  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country  (1888)  consists  in  round 
numbers  of  4,000  ministers,  7,000  congregations,  and  r, 000,000  of  com- 
muning members.  It  is  divided  into  58  Synods,  and  organized  under 
4  General  bodies:  i)  General  Synod,  North,  since  1821  ;  2)  General 
Council,  since  1867  ;  3)  Synodical  Conference,  since  1872  ;  4)  United 
Synod,  South,  since  1886. 

The  first,  the  General  Synod  is  largely  unionistic,  but  with  growing 
elements  of  a  more  churchly  character  in  faith  and  practice.  There  are 
two  elements  in  it,  the  one  laying  a  greater  stress  on  the  distinctive  doc- 
trines and  usages  of  Lutheranism,  and  the  other  warmly  encouraging 
all  syncretistic  plans  of  union. 

The  second  general  body,  the  General  Council,  to  which  the  Swedish 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Augustana  Synod  belongs,  is  strictly  Lutheran 
in  Confession,  but  in  the  practical  application  of  its  principles  in  dis- 
cipline, especially  on  the  "  four  points  "  in  controversy  ("  pulpit  and 
altar  fellowship,  Chiliasm  and  Secret  Societies  "),  has  failed  to  satisfy  the 
Synodical  Conference,  and  several  independent  Synods,  as  the  Iowa 
and  Ohio  Synods.  Even  among  the  nine  Synods  comprising  the  Gen- 
eral Council  there  has  been  some  difference  in  the  application  of  the 
principles  involved  in  the  "  four  points,"  some  applying  them  more 
strictly  than  others,  but,  in  general,  the  great  work  of  the  General 
Council  has  been  and  is,  to  educate  the  mind  of  the  Church,  and  to 
protest  against  all  unionistic  tendencies,  secret  associations,  and  all  er- 
rors in  doctrine,  endeavoring  to  solve  the  great  problem  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  of  this  country,  how  to  unite  the  various  nationalities,  speaking 
different  languages  (English,  German,  Norwegian,  Swedish,  Danish, 
Finnish,  etc.),  into  one  body,  harmonious  in  faith  and  practice. 

The  Synodical  C^/?/<?r<?«^<?,  the  outgrowth  of  the  Synod  of  Missouri, 
has  been  by  pre-eminence  the  representative  of  Lutheran  Orthodoxy, 
and  has  been  noted  for  its  strong  testimony  against  all  unionistic  ten- 
dencies, for  its  unflinching  stand  against  all  errors  in  doctnne,  and  es- 
pecially for  its  bold  denouncement  of  all  secret  organizations. 

The  United  Synod,  South,  the  smallest  of  the  four  general  bodies, 
is  churchly  and  conservative,  strictly  Lutheran  in   Confession,  and   in 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  FAITH.  117 

in  this  country.  Its  outgrowth  has  been  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  General  Council  in  1867,  and  of  the  Synod i- 
cal  Conference  in  1872. 

The  strict  confessionalism  of  the  General  Council  can 
be  seen  from  its  statements  of  the  ' '  fundamental  and 
unchangeable  "  Princ/pyes  of  Fait h'^,  which  lie  as  the 

practice  more  in  harmony  with  the  General  Council  than  with  the  Gen- 
eral Synod. 

2.  i)  There  must  be  and  abide  through  all  time,  one  holy  Christian 
Church,  which  is  the  assembly  of  all  believers,  among  whom  the  Gospel 
is  purely  preached,  and  the  Holy  Sacraments  are  administered,  as  the 
Gospel  demands. 

To  the  true  Unity  of  the  Church,  it  is  sufficient  that  there  be  agree- 
ment touching  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  that  it  be  preached  in  one 
accord,  in  its  pure  sense,  and  that  the  Sacraments  be  administered  con- 
formably to  God's  Word. 

2)  The  true  Unity  of  a  particular  Church,  in  virtue  of  which  men 
are  truly  members  of  one  and  the  same  Church,  and  by  which  any 
Church  abides  in  real  identity,  and  is  entitled  to  a  continuation  of  her 
name,  is  unity  in  doctrine  and  faith  and  in  the  Sacraments,  to-wit : 
That  she  continues  to  teach  and  to  set  forth,  and  that  her  true  mem- 
bers embrace  from  the  heart,  and  use,  the  articles  of  faith  and  the 
Sacraments  as  they  were  held  and  administered  when  the  Church 
came  into  distinctive  being  and  received  a  distinctive  name. 

3)  The  Unity  of  the  Church  is  witnessed  to,  and  made  manifest  in 
the  solemn,  public  and  official  Confessions  which  are  set  forth,  to-wit : 
The  generic  Unity  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  general  Creeds,  and 
the  specific  Unity  of  pure  parts  of  the  Christian  Church  in  their  specific 
Creeds ;  one  chief  object  of  both  classes  of  which  Creeds  is,  that  Chris- 
tians who  are  in  the  Unity  of  faith,  may  know  each  other  as  such,  and 
may  have  a  visible  bond  of  fellowship. 

4)  That  Confessions  may  be  such  a  testimony  of  Unity  and  bond 
of  Union,  they  must  be  accepted  in  every  statement  of  doctrine,  in 
their  own  true,  native,  original  and  only  sense.  Those  who  set  them 
forth  and  subscribe  them,  must  not  only  agree  to  use  the  same  words, 
but  must  use  and  understand  those  words  in  one  and  the  same  sense. 

5)  The  Unity  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  as  a  portion  of 
the  holy  Christian  Church,  depends  upon  her  abiding  in  one  and   the 


118        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

basis  of  its  Constitution.  Krauth^  :  ''Accepting  these 
principles,  we  stand  upon  the  everlasting  foundation 
—the  Word  of  God:  believing  that  the  Canonical  Books 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  are  in    their  original 

same  faith,  in  confessing  which  she  obtained  her  distinctive  being  and 
name,  her  political  recognition,  and  her  history. 

6)  The  Unaltered  Augsburg  Confession  is  by  pre-eminence  the  Con- 
fession of  that  faith.  The  acceptance  of  its  doctrines  and  the  avowal  of 
them  without  equivocation  or  mental  reservation,  make,  mark  and  iden- 
tify that  Church,  which  alone  in  the  true,  original,  historical  and  honest 
sense  of  the  term  is  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church. 

7)  The  only  Churches,  therefore,  of  any  land,  which  are  properly  in 
the  Unity  of  that  Communion,  and  by  consequence  entitled  to  its  name, 
Evangelical  Lutheran,  are  those  which  sincerely  hold  and  truthfully 
confess  the  doctrines  of  the  Unaltered  Augsburg  Confession. 

8)  We  accept  and  acknowledge  the  doctrines  of  the  Unaltered 
Augsburg  Confession  in  its  original  sense  as  throughout  in  conformity 
with  the  pure  truth  of  which  God's  Word  is  the  only  rule.  We  accept 
its  statements  of  truth  as  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  Canonical 
Scriptures.  We  reject  the  errors  it  condemns,  and  beUeve  that  all 
which  it  commits  to  the  liberty  of  the  Church,  of  right  belongs  to  that 
liberty. 

9)  In  thus  formally  accepting  and  acknowledging  the  Unaltered 
Augsburg  Confession,  we  declare  our  conviction,  that  the  other  Con- 
fessions of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  inasmuch  as  they  set 
forth  none  other  than  its  system  of  doctrine,  and  articles  of  faith,  are  of 
necessity  pure  and  Scriptural.  Pre-emment  among  such  accordant, 
pure  and  Scriptural  statements  of  doctrine,  by  their  intrinsic  excellence, 
by  the  great  and  necessary  ends  for  which  they  were  prepared,  by  their 
historical  position,  and  by  the  general  judgment  of  the  Church,  are  these : 
the  Apology  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  the  Smalcald  Articles,  the 
Catechisms  of  Luther,  and  the  Formula  of  Concord,  all  of  which  are, 
with  the  Unaltered  Augsburg  Confession,  in  the  perfect  harmony  of 
one  and  the  same  Scriptural  faith. 

3.  Condensed  from  Dr.  Krauth's  Conservative  Reformation,  pp.  165—169. 
Dr.  Krauth  also  was  the  author  of  "The  Principles  of  Faith  and  Church  Polity," 
which  were  adopted,  as  the  basis  of  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Council,  at 
Reading,  Pa.,  1866. 


CHURCH  DOCTRINE  AND  SUBJECTIVE  CONSCIOUSNEvSS  OF  FAITH.   119 

tongues,  and  in  a  pure  text,  the  perfect  and  only  rule  of 
faith.  .  .  .  Not  any  word  of  man,  no  creed,  commentary, 
theological  system,  nor  decision  of  Fathers  or  of  Coun- 
cils, no  doctrine  of  Churches,  or  of  the  whole  Church,  no 
results  or  judgments  of  reason,  however  strong,  mat- 
ured, and  well  informed,  no  one  of  these,  and  not  all  of 
these  together,  but  God's  Word  alone  is  the  rule  of  faith. 
No  apocryphal  books,  but  the  canonical  books  alone, 

are  the  rule  of  faith 

As  the  acceptance  of  the  Word  of  God  as  a  Rule  of 
Faith  separates  us  from  the  Mohammedan,  as  the  re- 
ception of  the  New  Testament  sunders  us  from  the  Jew, 
as  the  hearty  acquiescence  in  the  Apostles',  Nicene  and 
Athanasian  Creeds  shows  us,  in  the  face  of  all  errorists 
of  the  earlier  ages,  to  be  in  the  faith  of  the  Church  Cath- 
olic, so  does  our  unreserved  acceptance  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession  mark  us  as  Lutherans ;  and  the  acceptance 
of  the  Apology,  the  Catechisms  of  Luther,  the  Smalcald 
Articles,  and  the  Formula  of  Concord,  continues  the 
work  of  marking  our  separation  from  all  errorists  of 
every  shape,  whose  doctrines  are  in  conflict  with  the 
true  sense  of  the  Rule  of  Faith— that  Rule  whose  teach- 
ings are  rightly  interpreted  and  faithfully  embodied  in 
the  Confessions  afore-mentioned.  Therefore,  God  help- 
ing us,  we  will  teach  the  whole  faith  of  His  Word, 
which  faith  our  Church  sets  forth,  explains,  and  defends 
in  her  Symbols.  We  do  not  interpret  God's  Word  by 
the  Creed,  neither  do  we  interpret  the  Creed  by  God's 
Word,  but  interpreting  both  independently,  by  the  laws 
of  language,  and  finding  that  they  teach  one  and  the 
same  truth,  we  heartily  acknowledge  the  Confession  as 
a  true  exhibition  of  the  faith  of  the  Rule,— a  true  witness 
to  the  one,  pure,  and  unchanging  faith  of  the  Christian 
Church." 


120  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

5.     The  Consciousness  of  Faith. 

By  the  consciousness  of  faith  we  mean  that  internal 
assurance  and  inner  possession  which  the  dogmatician 
has  of  those  saving  truths  of  Christianity,  which  the 
Scriptures  reveal  and  the  Church  teaches.  It  is  this  inner 
consciousness  of  faith  which  is  the  starting-point  and 
the  source  of  the  reproduction  of  doctrine  in  a  dogmatic 
system,  but  such  a  presentation  of  doctrine  must  be 
based  on  the  Word  of  God  as  the  Rule  of  Faith,  and 
compared  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Church. 


SECTION  XIV. 

THE  DISPOSITION  OF  DOGMATICS. 

The  division  of  the  material  is  suggested  by 
the  contents  and  the  aim  of  Dogmatics,  namely, 
the  delineation  of  that  fellowship  with  God  on 
the  part  of  man,  which  has  come  into  historic 
being  in  Christ.  The  arrangement  has  been  made 
sometimes  synthetically,  sometimes  analytically, 
sometimes  in  accordance  with  the  three  articles 
of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  sometimes  in  the 
historic  order  of  the  development  of  its  great 
leading  parts. 

LuTHARDT,  after  his  "Prolegomena"  (§  1—14)  and 
"History  of  Dogmatics"  (§  15—21)  presents  his  sys- 
tem under  six  heads : 

1)  The  Establishment  of  the  Fellowship  of  God  in 
the  Will  of  God's  Eternal  Love  (§  22—32) ; 

2)  The  Creation  of  Man  and  of  the  World  which  has 
been  given  to  him,  as  the  beginning  of  the  historical 
Actualizing  of  the  Divine  Love  and  Purpose  (§  33—39) ; 


THE  DISPOSITION  OF  DOGMATICS.  121 

3)  The  Disruption  of  the  Original  Fellowship  of  God 
through  sin,  and  the  Preparation  for  its  Restoration 
(§  40—45) ; 

4)  The  Restoration  of  the  Fellowship  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus  (§  46—56) ; 

5)  The  Appropriation  of  the  Fellowship  of  God  re- 
stored in  Christ  Jesus  (i^  57—74) ; 

6)  The  Completion  of  the  Fellowship  of  God  or 
The  Last  Things  (§  75—79). 

Martensen,  Marheineke  and  Kahnis  follow  the  order 
of  the  articles  of  the  Apostles'  Creed : 

1)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Father; 

2)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Son ; 

3)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Spirit. 

Philippi  divides  his  system  into  five  parts  and  fol- 
lows the  order  of  the  historical  actualizing  of  the  Fel- 
lowship of  Man  v^ith  God : 

1)  The  Original  Fellowship  of  God; 

2)  The  Disruption  of  the  Fellowship  of  God; 

3)  The  Restoration  of  the  Fellowship  of  God ; 

a)  Of  Election  and  the  Person  of  Christ. 

b)  Ofthe  Work  of  Christ. 

4)  The  Appropriation  ofthe  Fellowship  of  God; 

a)  The  Order  of  Salvation. 

b)  The  Means  of  Grace. 

c)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Church. 

5)  The  Completion  ofthe  Fellowship  of  God. 

And  so  in  substance  the  systems  of  Thomasius  and 
Frank,  though  otherwise  formulated. 

In  our  own  system  w^e  will  follov^  the  order  of 
Luthardt's  Kompendium,  but  instead  of  his  main  divis- 
ions as  given  above,  we  will  employ  the  technical  ex- 
pressions generally  used  in  the  synthetic  method.  In 
order  to  present  the  whole  system  of  Dogmatic  Theol- 


122  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

ogy  before  the  eye  of  the  student,  we  herewith  give  an 
diitline,  according  to  which  the  subject-matter  of  Dog- 
matics will  be  treated. 

PROLEGOMENA  OR  INTRODUCTION  (§  i— 21). 

§  I.     The  Object  of  the  Introduction. 

I.  Definition  of  Dogmatics  (§  2—5). 
§  2.     Definition  of  Theology. 

1.  Usage  of  the  word  Theology. 

2.  Divisions  of  Theology. 

3.  Definition  of  Revealed  Theology. 

4.  Means  of  Theological  Study. 

5.  Aim  of  Theology. 
§  3.     The  Claims  of  Theology. 

1.  Its  historical  existence. 

2.  Its  necessity. 

3.  Its  possibility. 

4.  Relation  of  Theology  and  Philosophy. 
§  4.     The  Organism  of  Theology. 

1.  The  Departments  of  Theology. 

2.  The  Relation  of  Dogmatics  and  Ethics. 
§  5.     The  Definition  of  Dogmatics. 

1.  Definition  of  Dogma. 

2.  The  Name  of  this  Science. 

3.  Definition  of  Dogmatics. 

II.  Contents  of  Dogmatics  (§  6— 11). 

§  6.     Definition  of  Religion. 

1.  The  word  Religion. 

2.  Definition  of  Religion. 

§  7.     The  Essential  Character  and  Truth  of  Religion. 

1.  Religion  in  its  subjective  sense. 

2.  Religion  in  its  objective  sense. 

3.  The  Origin  of  Religion. 

4.  The  Truth  of  Religion. 

§  8.     Divisions  of  Religions.  * 

1.  True  and  False. 

2.  Natural  and  Positive. 


THE  DISPOSITION  OF  DOGMATICS.  123 

"§  9.     The  Essential  Character  of  Christianity. 

1.  The  Relation  of  Christianity  to  Heathenism  and  Judaism. 

2.  The  Essential  Character  of  Christianity. 

3.  The  Historical  Conception  of  Christianity. 

4.  The  Truth  of  Christianity. 

§  10.     Romanism  and  Protestantism  contrasted. 

1.  False  explanations  of  the  difference. 

2.  A  general  Statement  of  the  difference. 

3.  The  Essential  Character  of  Romanism. 

4.  Romanism  criticised. 

5.  The  Essential  Character  of  Protestantism. 
^11.     Lutheran  Protestantism. 

1.  The  Difference  between  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Protes- 
tantism. 

2.  The  Material  and  Formal  Principle. 

3.  The  Material  Principle  of  Lutheranism. 

4.  The  Formal  Principle  of  Lutheranism. 

5.  The  Historical  Character  of  Lutheran  Protestantism. 

6.  The  Internal  Assurance  of  Salvation. 

III.  Method  of  Dogmatics  (§  12 — 14). 
§  12.     The  Formation  of  a  Dogmatic  System. 

1.  The  Material  Principle  of  Dogmatics. 

2.  The  Holy  Scriptures  as  the  Normative  factor  of   Dogma- 
tics. 

3.  The  Canon  of  Scripture. 

4.  The  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

§  1 3.     The  Church  Doctrine  and  the  Subjective  Consciousness  of  Faith. 

1.  The  Churchly  Character  of  Dogmatics. 

2.  The  Confessions  of  the  Church. 

3.  The  Church  Doctrine  as  consisting  of  Articles  of  Faith. 

4.  The  Fundamental   Principles  of    Faith  of  the   General 
Council  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  North  America. 

5.  The  Consciousness  of  Faith. 
§  14.     The  Disposition  of  Dogmatics. 

IV.  The  History  of  Dogmatics  (§  15—21). 
§  15.     The  Dogmatics  of  the  Ancient  Church. 

§  16.     The  Dogmatics  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

I.     The  Essential  Character  of  Scholasticism. 


124  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

2.  The  Beginnings  of  Scholasticism. 

3.  The  Period  of  the  highest  bloom  of  Scholasticism. 

4.  The  Period  of  its  Decline. 

5.  Mysticism  and  Pre-Reformatory  Theology. 

§  17.     The  Dogmatics  of  the  Century  of  the  Reformation. 

1.  The  Dogmatics  of  Melanchthon. 

2.  The  Melanchthonian  School  of  Dogmatics. 

3.  The  Reformed  Dogmatics. 

§  18.     The  Orthodox  Dogmatics  of  the  Seventeenth  Century. 

1.  Characteristic  of  this  Dogmatics. 

2.  The  divers  Tendencies  of  this  Period. 

3.  The  Dogmaticians  of  this  Period. 

4.  The  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  Dogmatics  of  this  Period. 
§  19.     The  Dogmatics  of  the  Period  of  Transition. 

1.  The  Dogmatics  of  Pietism. 

2.  The  Biblical  Tendency. 

3.  The  Historical  Tendency. 

4.  The  Philosophical  Tendency. 

§  20.     The  Dogmatics  of  Rationalism  and  Supranaturalism. 
•     I.     The  Period  of  Illumination. 

2.  Kant. 

3.  Vulgar  Rationalism. 

4.  Supranaturalism. 

§  21.     The  Dogmatics  of  the  Most  Recent  Time. 

1.  The  Renewal  of  Religious  Faith. 

2.  The  Philosophy  of  this  Period. 

3.  The  Emotional  Theology  of  this  Period. 

4.  The  Dogmatics  of  the  Mediating  Theology. 

5.  Confessional    Dogmatics. 

PART  I. 

THEOLOGIA  OR  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  GOD  (§  22—37), 
§  22.     The  Treatment  of  the  Doctrine  of  God. 
§  23.     The  Natural  Revelation  of  God. 

1.  The  Significance  of  Revelation. 

2.  The  Definition  of  Revelation. 

3.  General  Revelation. 

§  24.     The  so-called  Proofs  of  the  Existence  of  God. 

1.  Proofs  derived  from  Reflection  on  the  World. 

2.  Proofs  derived  from  Reflection  of  man  upon  himself. 


\ 
\ 

THE  DISPOSITION  OF  DOGMATICS.  125                  j 

§  25.     The  Supernatural  Revelation  of  God. 

1.  The  Fact  of  Revelation. 

2.  The  Definition  of   Revelation.  i 

3.  The  Constituent  parts  of  Revelation.  ' 

4.  The  Contents  of  Revelation.  ; 

5.  The  Nature  of  Revelation. 

§  26.     The  Necessity,  Possibility,  and  Actuality  of  Supernatural  Rev-  ' 
elation. 

1.  The  Necessity  of  Supernatural  Revelation.  i 

2.  Its  Possibility.  .', 

3.  The  Relation  of  Reason  and  Revelation.  ' 

4.  The  Actuality  and  Truth  of  Revelation.  . 
§  27.     God  as  the  Absolute  Personality.  i 

1.  The  question  of  the  Recognition  of  God.  : 

2.  The  Definition  of  the  Absolute  and  of  Personality.  | 

3.  The  Personality  of  God.  -; 

4.  Pantheism  and  Theism.  I 

5.  The  History  of  the  Notion  of  God  apart   from  the  Bib-             ] 
lical  one.  * 

6.  The  Biblical  Notion  of  God.  ] 

7.  The  Churchly  Theology.  j 
§  28.     God  as  Holy  Love.  \ 

1.  God  as  Essential  Goodness.  1 

2.  God  as  Perfect  Holiness.  j 

3.  God  as  Tender  Love.  . 
§  29.     The  Doctrine  of  the  Divine  Attributes.  ; 

1.  The  Notion  of  the  Divine  Attributes,  and  of  their  Rela- 
tion to  the  Divine  Essence. 

2.  Manner  of  Determining  the  Attributes. 

3.  Division  of  the  Attributes.  I 

4.  The  Particular  Attributes.  j 
§  30.     The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  \ 

1.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament,  • 

2.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Nev^  Testament.  j 

i)  The  self- witness  of  Jesus. 

2)  The  Apostolic  Declarations.  ! 

3)  The  New  Testament  Doctrine  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  i 

4)  The  Co-ordination  of  the  Three  Persons.  j 
§  31.     The  Church  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  ; 

I.     The  History  of  the  Doctrine.  I 


126                    iNTRODtrcTlOK  to  DOGMATtC  TtiEOtOGY.  • 

'{ 

1.    The  Dogmatic  Formulation.  j 

3.  Explanatory  Analogies  and  Scientific  Deductions.  i 

4.  Attacks  upon  the  Church  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

§  32.     Doctrine  of  the  Decree  of  God,  or  of  Predestination.  :, 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  \ 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

%  33.     The  Doctrine  of  Creation.  \ 

1.  Biblical  Account  of  Creation. 

2.  Definition  of  Creation.  J 

i 

3.  The  Essential  Dogmatic  Determinations.  '-\ 
§  34.     The  Doctrine  of  Providence.  \ 

1.  Transcendence  and  Immanence.  \ 

2.  The  Assurance  of  Providence.  \ 

3.  The  Definition  of  Providence.  , 

4.  The  Object  of  Providence.  J 

5.  The  Form  of  Providence.  ■ 

6.  The  Aim  of  Providence.  j 

7.  Antitheses  to  the  true  Doctrine. 
§  35.     The  Doctrine  of  Miracles. 

1.  Miracles  of  Scripture.  ! 

2.  Miracles  in  the  Church.  \ 

3.  Notion  and  Definition  of  Miracles.  .] 

4.  The  Possibility  of  Miracles.  ; 

5.  The  Necessity  of  Miracles.  i 

6.  The  Actuality  of  Miracles.  \ 

7.  The  Divisions  of  Miracles.  ! 
§  36.     The  Doctrine  of  Angels.  I 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  ; 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine.  i 

3.  Modern  Criticism.  » 
§  37.     The  Doctrine  concerning  Satan. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  \ 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

3.  Modern  Criticism. 

PART  II. 

ANTHROPOLOGIA  OR  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  MAN  (§  38-44).  j 

§  38.     Man.  I 

1.  Creation  of  Man.  • 

2.  The  Essential  Constituents  of  Man.  - 


I'HE  t)ISl»OSlTlON  OF  DOGMATICS.  127 

3.  The  Unity  of  the  Human  Race. 

4.  The  Propagation  of  the  Soul. 
§  39.     The  Original  Condition  of  Man. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  ; 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine.  ] 
§  40.     The  Fall.  '. 

1.  The  Biblical  Account. 

2.  The  Historical  Actuality  of  the  Fall.  ] 

3.  Attempts  to  explain  away  the  Historical  Facts.  ; 
§41.     Original  Sin.  ! 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine.  I 

3.  Modern  Criticism.  i 
§  42.     The  Essential  Character  of  Sin.  : 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine, 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

§  43.     Actual  Sins.  ij 

1.  General  Definition  of  Sins  of  Act. 

2.  Divisions  of  Sins  of  Act. 


\ 

§  44.     Moral  Bondage,  or  the  Doctrine  of  Free  Will.  ) 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  j 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine.  1 

PART  III.  j 

CHRISTOLOGIA  OR    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    THE    PERSON  i 

OF  CHRIST  (§  45—51).  I 
§  45.     The  Historical  Preparation  for  Salvation. 

1.  Beginning  of  the  History  of  Divine  Revelation.  ^ 

2.  The  Heathen  World.  j 

3.  Israel.  1 
§  46.     The  Postulate  of  the  divine-human  Mediator. 

1.  The  Necessity  of  the  Atonement.  ^ 

2.  The  Ground  of  the  Incarnation.  | 

3.  The  Person  of  Christ.  ' 
§  47.     The  Reality  and  the  Integrity  of  the  Two  Natures  of  Christ.  '] 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  ; 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine.  \ 
§  48.     The  God-Man.  ^ 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  I 

2.  The  Historical  Unfolding  of  the  Church  Doctrine.  j 


128         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY.  ^ 

§  49,     Doctrine  of  the  Dogmaticians  concerning  the  God-Man.  :j 

1.  Unitio  or  Incarnation. 

2.  The  Personal  Union.  5 

3.  The  Communion  of  Natures. 

4.  The  Personal  Propositions. 

5.  The  Communicatio  Idiomatum.  . 

i)  Genus  Idiomaticum. 

2)  Genus  Majestaticum.  j 

3)  Genus  Apotelesmaticum.  ' 
§  50.     The  Humiliation  of  Christ.  I 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  | 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine.  j 
§  51.     The  Modern  Development  of  the  Christological  Dogma.  j 

PART  IV.  ' 

SOTERIOLOGIA  OR  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  WORK  OF 

CHRIST  (§  52—56). 

§  52.     The  Mediatorial  Office  of  Christ.  ^ 

1.  Jesus  is  the  Mediator.  ' 

2.  The  three-fold  Office  of  Christ.  ■ 
§  53.     The  Prophetic  Office. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  \ 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine.                                                         >  [ 
§  54.    The  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement.  j 

1 .  Sin  brings  guilt.  ; 

2.  The  Old  Testament  Doctrine  concerning  Sacrifice.  j 

3.  The  Utterances  of  the  Gospel  in  regard  to  the  Sufferings        \ 
of  Christ. 

4.  The  Utterances  of  the  Apostles.  j 
§  55.     The  Church  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement.  j 

1.  The  Ancient  Church.  j 

2.  The  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages.  i 

3.  The  Reformation.  ] 

4.  The  Dogmaticians  of  the  Seventeenth  Century.  1 

5.  Further  History  of  the  Dogma.  I 
§  56.     The  Regal  Office.  i 

1.  The  Descent  into  Hell.  j 

2.  The  Resurrection  of  Christ.  : 

3.  The  Ascension  to  Heaven. 


THE  DISPOSITION   OF    DOGMATICS.  129 

4.  The  Sitting  at  the  Right  Hand  of  the  Father. 

5.  The  Intercession. 

6.  The  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

PART  V. 

PNEUMATOLOGIA    OR    THE    DOCTRINE    OF  THE  WORK 
OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  (§  57—66). 

§  57.     The  Arrangement  of  the  Material. 
§  58.     The  Grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  59.     The  Calling  or  Vocation. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  60.     Illumination. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  61.     Conversion. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.  t 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  62.     Repentance. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§63.     Faith. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine, 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  64.     Justification. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctnne. 
§  65,     Regeneration  and  the  Mystical  Union. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  66.     Sanctification,  Renovation,  Good  Works. 

1.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 


130         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

PART  YI. 

ECCLESIOLOGIA  OR  THE  DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  THE 

CHURCH  (§  67—74). 
§  67.     The  Essential  Character  and  Attributes  of  the  Church. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine.    . 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

3.  The  Later  Development  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church. 
§  68.     The  Holy  Scriptures. 

1.  The  Testimony  of  Scripture  to  itself. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

i)  The  ancient  Catholic  Church. 

2)  The  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

3)  The  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

4)  The  Protestant  Church. 

5)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Dogmaticians. 

6)  The  more  recent  Development  of  the  Doctrine  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Scriptures. 

§  69.     The  Means  of  Grace. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  70.     The  Word  of  God. 

1 .  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 
§  71.     Baptism. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

i)  The  ancient  Catholic  Church. 

2)  The  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

3)  The  Protestant  Church. 
§  72.     The  Lord's  Supper. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

1)  The  Ancient  Church. 

2)  The  Church  of   the  Middle  Ages   and   the   Roman 
Catholic  Church. 

3)  The  Reformation. 

4)  The  Dogmaticians. 

5)  Modern  Criticism  of  the  Doctrine. 


THE  DISPOSITION  OF    DOGMATICS.  131 

§  73.     The  Sacraments. 

1.  The  Ancient  Catholic  and  Roman  Church. 

2.  Protestantism. 

3.  Appendix :    The   Sacraments   so-called   of    the   Roman 
Church. 

§  74.     The  Doctrine  of  the  Ministry. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

PART  YII. 

ESCHATOLOGIA    OR    THE     DOCTRINE     OF     THE     LAST 

THINGS  (§  75-79). 
§  75.     Life  after  Death.     Immortality. 

1.  The  Testimony  of   the  Universal  Human  Consciousness. 

2.  The  Scripture  Doctrine  concerning  the  State  after  Death. 

3.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

§  76.     The  Second  Coming  of  Christ. 

1.  The  Conversion  of  the  Gentiles. 

2.  Antichrist. 

3.  The  Second  Coming  of  Christ. 

4.  The  so-called  Reign  of  a  Thousand  Years.     Chiliasm. 
§  TJ.     The  General  Resurrection. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

§  78.     The  Final  Judgment  and  the  End  of  the  World. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 

§  79.     Eternal  Life  and  Eternal  Death. 

1.  The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

2.  The  Church  Doctrine. 


132  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

IV.    THE  HISTORY  OF  DOGMATICS. 
SECTION  XV. 

THE  DOGMATICS   OF  THE   ANCIENT  CHURCH. 

The  Theology  of  the  Ancient  Church  was  in- 
fluenced by  the  prevaihng*  philosophy  of  portions 
of  the  Church.  It  is  the  patristic  theology,  and 
so  far  from  possessing  the  unity  which  is  claimed 
for  it  by  those  w^ho  desire  to  give  it  an  undue 
authority,  it  is  for  its  range  the  most  diversifled 
and  conflicting,  in  manifold  respects,  of  all  the 
theologies  of  the  various  eras. 

I.      THE  APOSTOLICAL    FATHERS. 

We  cannot  properly  speak  of  a  theology  of  the  Apos- 
tolical Fathers^  (Clement  of  Rome,  Author  of  Epistle 
to  Diognetus,  Polycarp,  Ignatius,  Barnabas,  Papias) 
for  they  preserve  and  continue  the  Apostolic  tradition, 
making  continual  reference  to  the  oral  preaching  of  the 
Apostles.   The  Apologists^  of  the  second  century  (Justin 

1.  Of  the  three  well-known  editions  of  the  original  i)  Jacobson,  2)  Hefele, 
3)  Gebhardt,  Harnack,  Zahn,  the  last  is  the  best  and  most  complete.  Of  mono- 
graphs, Lightfoot's  Clement  of  Rome  (2  vols.)  and  Ignatius  and  Polycarp  (3  vols., 
1885)  are  superior  to  anything  that  has  ever  been  attempted  before.  They  are  com- 
mentaries, containing  a  revised  Greek  text,  introductions,  notes  and  dissertations. 

The  best  English  translation  and  most  accessible  is  the  one  found  in  vol.  i.  of 
the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers^  published  by  "  The  Christian  Literature  Publishing 
Co.,"  1885. 

Compare  also  Church  Histories  of  Schaff,  Hase,  Neander,  and  Kurtz,  and 
Donaldson's  Apostolical  Fathers,  London,  1874. 

2.  For  Bibliography  of  separate  authors  see  Richardson's  Bibliographical 
Synopsis  to  Anti-Nicene  Fathers  (Christian  Literature  Company,  1887).  For 
students  we  would  especially  recommend  Gildersleeve's  edition  of  the  Apologies  of 
Justin  Martyr,  and  March's  edition  of  Athenagoras,  published  by  Harper  &  Bros., 
in  the  Douglass  series  of  Christian  Greek  and  Latin  writers.  An  English  transla- 
tion is  given  in  vol.  i  (//.  159—578)  and  vol.  2  (//>.  59—162)  of  the  American  edj. 
tion  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers, 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  133 

Martyr,  Irenasus,  Tatiaii,Theophilus,andAthenagoras) 
through  their  \vri tings,  by  their  refutation  of  the  slan- 
ders of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  by  their  vindication  of  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  and  their  attack  of  the  errors  and 
vices  of  idolatry,  prepared  the  way  for  the  speculations 
of  the  Alexandrian  School,  whose  chief  representatives 
are  Clement  of  Alexandria  and  Origen. 

II.      THE   ORIENTAL   CHURCH. 
I.     The  School  of  Alexandria. 

1)  Clement  OF  Alexandria^  (d.  about  220)  after 
Justin  Martyr  and  Irenseus,  may  be  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  Christian  literature.  He  became  the  sucessor 
of  Pantasnus  in  the  Catechetical  School  of  Alexandria 
(after  180  a.  d.),  and  had  Origen  for  his  pupil,  who  suc- 
ceeded him  in  202  A.  d.  Cyril  of  Alexandria  (d.  444) 
calls  Clement  ''a  man  admirably  learned  and  skilful, 
one  that  searched  to  the  depths  all  the  learning  of  the 
Greeks,  with  an  exactness  rarely  attained  before,"  and 
Eusebius  {d.  340)  praises  him  as  an  "incomparable 
master  of  Christian  philosophy."    His  works  are  full  of 

3.  An  English  translation  of  the  extant  works  of  Clement  is  given  in  the 
American  edition  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers,  vol.  2,  pp.  163 — 605.  For  a  full 
Bibliography  of  all  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  see  Richardson's  Bibliographical 
Synopsis^  The  Christian  Literature  Co.,  1887. 

To  avoid  burdening  our  pages  with  so  many  references,  we  here  once  for  all 
call  attention  to  the  Encyclopsedias  and  works  of  reference,  which  are  of  especial 
value  to  the  student  in  the  study  of  the  lives,  views,  and  writings  of  the  different 
writers,  theologians,  and  dogmaticians  which  are  mentioned  in  this  brief  outline, 
and  which  have  been  moie  or  less  used  in  the  preparation  of  these  notes. 

The  Encyclopcedias  of  Plitt-Hauck-Herzog,  Schaff-Herzog,  Alexander-Kitto, 
Johnson,  McClintock-Strong,  Smith -Wace,  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  etc.;  the 
Church  Histories  of  Schaff,  Hase,  Neander,  Kurtz,  Robertson,  Hagenbach, 
Herzog,  Gieseler,  Guericke,  Hardwick,  Milman,  Mosheim,  Neale,  etc.;  among  the 
works  on  History  of  Doctrines  and  of  Dogmatics  we  would  mention  the  works  of 
Kliefoth,  Thomasius,  Harnoch,  Neander,  Frank,  Dorner,  Hagenbach,  H.  Schmid, 
Shedd,  Crippen,  etc. 

We  will  refer  in  our  foot-notes  to  special  monographs,  and  to  the  more  im- 
portant works  bearing  on  the  topic  or  person  under  consideration. 


134  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

quotations  from  the  older  Greek  authors.  He  aims  to 
harmonize  Greek  philosophy  and  Christianity,  and  seeks 
to  guide  his  readers  from  faith  (pistis)  to  knowledge 
(gnosis)  by  the  aid  of  philosophy. 

His  three  great  works  1)  The  Exhortation  to  the 
Greeks,  2)  The  Instructor,  and  3)  The  Miscellanies  or 
Stromata,  are  really  parts  of  one  whole  system,  repre- 
senting three  progressive  stages  in  a  systema^tic  teach- 
ing of  Christianity,  and  are  among  the  most  valuable 
remains  of  Christian  antiquity. 

These  three  works  were  composed  by  him  during  his 
residence  as  a  teacher  in  Alexandria,  and  in  his  ''  Exhor- 
tation," which  is  a  work  on  Apologetics,  he  points  out 
the  unreasonableness  and  immorality  of  heathenism ;  in 
his  ''Instructor"  or  "Educator,"  which  is  a  work  on 
Ethics,  he  unfolds  Christian  morality,  with  constant 
reference  to  heathen  practices;  his  "Miscellanies,"  a 
work  of  a  dogmatical  character,  aims  to  furnish  the 
material  for  the  construction  of  a  Christian  philosophy 
on  the  basis  of  faith.  This  last  work,  though  written 
carelessly,  is  a  storehouse  of  immense  learning.  Though 
his  writings  are  rich  in  brilliant  thoughts,  abounding 
in  passages  of  power  and  beauty,  he  often  repeats  him- 
self and  is  lacking  in  clear,  fixed  method. 

ScHAFF :  "  His  theology  is  not  a  unit,  but  a  confused 
ecletic  mixture  of  Christian  elements  with  many  Stoic, 

Platonic,  and  Philonic  ingredients His  ethical 

principles  are  those  of  the  Hellenic  philosophy,  inspired 
by  the  genius  of  Christianity". 

Though  Clement  has  never  been  branded  with  heresy 
like  Origen,  still  "in  his  utterances  concerning  the  Son, 
the  Philonic  wavering  between  the  theory  of  subordina- 
tion and  Modalism  is  not  fully  overcome  "  (Ueberweg)  *, 

4.  See  his  History  of  Philosophy^  vol.  i.  //.  311 — 315  for  a  careful  estimate 
of  Clement  as  a  philosopher  and  a  theologian. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHtfRCH.  135 

and  his  exegesis  of  Scripture  was  cast  in  the  same  fan- 
tastic allegorical  mould  as  that  of  Origen,  his  pupil  and 
successor. 

2)  Origen  5  (d.  254)  was  the  greatest  scholar  of  all 
the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers,  but  he  was  by  no  means  or- 
thodox, either  in  the  Roman  Catholic  or  Protestant 
sense.  It  is  in  his  early  dogmatic  work  De  Principiis, 
i.  e.,  on  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith, 
that  he  lays  himself  open  to  charges  of  false  doctrine. 

This  A^ork  of  Origen  is  divided  into  four  books :  in 
the  first,  he  treats  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
of  angels ;  in  the  second  book,  of  the  creation  of  the 
world,  of  the  incarnation  of  Christ,  of  the  soul,  of  the 
resurrection,  of  judgment,  of  punishment;  in  the  third, 
of  the  freedom  of  the  will,  of  sin,  of  the  end  of  the  world ; 
in  the  fourth,  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  their 
authority  and  interpretation,  together  with  a  summary 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  of  various  other  doc- 
trines. 

This  was  the  first  attempt  to  set  forth  a  complete 
system  of  dogmatics,  and  is  full  of  Platonizing  and 
gnosticising  errors,  some  of  which  Origen  retracted  in 
his  later  years. 

The  points  on  which  Origen  departed  from  the  or- 
thodox faith  are  mainly  these : 

1)  His  doctrine  that  the  souls  of  men  had  previously 
existed,  and  that  their  imprisonment  in  material  bodies 
was  a  punishment  for  sins  which  they  had  then  com- 
mitted ; 

5.  For  an  English  translation  of  his  De  Principiis  and  Cojttra  Celsum  see 
Coxa's  edition  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers^  vol.  4,  pp.  223 — 669.  For  two  valuable 
monographs  see  Thoniasius^  Gott,,  Origines,  ein  Beitrag  zur  Dogmengesch.  des 
dritten  Jahrhunderts.  Nurnberg,  1837.  Redepenning^  E.  R.^  Origines,  eine  Dar- 
stellung  seines  Lebens  und  seiner  Lehre.  2  vols.  (Pp.  xvi,  461 ;  xvi,  491),  Bonn, 
1841 — 46. 


136  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

2)  His  doctrine  that  the  human  soul  of  Christ  had 
also  previously  existed  and  been  united  to  the  Divine 
nature  before  the  Incarnation ; 

3)  His  doctrine  of  an  eternal  creation; 

4)  His  denial  of  a  material  resurrection; 

5)  His  doctrine  of  an  universal  restoration,  that  the 
work  of  redemption  extends  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
stars,  and  that  all  men,  the  evil  angels,  and  Satan  him- 
self, shall  be  finally  restored ; 

6)  Although  he  was  the  first  to  teach  expressly  the 
eteri2a7  generation  of  the  Son,  yet  in  the  great  Christo- 
logical  controversies  of  the  fourth  century  the  Arians 
(heteroousios),  the  Semi-Arians  (homoiousios)  and  the 
Athanasians  (homoousios) ,  all  equally  regarded  Origen 
as  on  their  side. 

In  this  treatise  De  Principiis  his  principles  of  inter- 
preting Scripture  are  also  brought  out,  and  although 
Origen  may  be  regarded  as  the  father  of  critical  investi- 
gation of  Scripture,  and  his  greatest  service  was  in 
exegesis,  nevertheless  his  principles  of  exposition,  though 
put  forth  by  him  in  a  devout  spirit  and  with  many  cau- 
tions, have  a  tendency  to  subvert  belief  in  the  historical 
truth  of  Scripture. 

ScHAFF :  "  His  great  defect  is  the  neglect  of  the  gram- 
matical and  historical  sense  and  his  constant  desire  to 
find  a  hidden  mystic  meaning.  He  even  goes  further  in 
this  direction  than  the  Gnostics,  who  everywhere  saw 
transcendental,  unfathomable  mysteries.  His  hermen- 
eutical  principle  assumes  a  three -fold  sense — literal, 
moral,  and  spiritual.  His  allegorical  interpretation  is 
ingenious,  but  often  runs  away  from  the  text  and  de- 
generates into  the  merest  caprice;  while  at  times  it 
gives  way  to  the  opposite  extreme  of  a  carnal  literalism, 
by  which  he  justifies  his  ascetic  extravagance". 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  137 

The  treatise  of  Origen  Against  Celsus  is  a  defence  of 
Christianity  in  opposition  to  a  Greek  philosopher  named 
Celsus,  and  is  one  of  the  ripest  and  most  valuable  of  his 
productions.  It  was  written  in  his  old  age  (about  248) 
and  is  composed  with  care,  and  shows  evidence  of  the 
widest  learning.  As  the  work  is  in  strict  harmony  with 
the  orthodox  teaching  of  the  Church,  it  is  only  fair  that 
we  should  judge  Origen  rather  from  the  standpoint  of 
his  more  mature  work,  than  from  his  youthful  produc- 
tion De  Principiis. 

2.     The  New  Alexandrian  School. 

This  School  sincerely  respected  thememory  of  Origen, 
and  in  part  followed  in  his  footsteps  in  their  speculative 
treatment  of  Christian  doctrine.  But  they  avoided  his 
unbiblical  errors,  and  simply  consistently  carried  out 
what  was  sound  in  his  teaching.  Keeping  clear  of  all 
Subordinationism  the  theologians  of  this  School  agreed 
more  fully  with  the  teachings  of  the  divines  of  the 
Western  Church.  Its  leading  and  most  orthodox  repre- 
sentatives were  Athanasius,  the  three  great  Cappadoci- 
ans,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Basil  the  Great,  and  Gregory 
of  Nyssa,  and  Didymus  the  Blind.  The  leaven  of  error 
again  appeared  in  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  although  he  was 
still  regarded  as  orthodox.  We  may  also,  in  this  connec- 
tion, refer  to  the  Catecheses  of  Cyril  of  Jerusalem. 

1)  Athanasius  ^  (c/.  373)  is  the  theological  centre  of 
the  Nicene  age.  The  history  of  his  life  is  the  history  of 
the  Church  during  that    period.    The   "father  of  or- 

I.  The  more  important  dogmatic  works  of  Athanasius  have  been  edited  by 
J.  C.  Thilo  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Bibliotheca  Patrum  Grcecorum  Dogmatica, 
pp.  43  and  1006,  Leipsic,  1853.  English  translation  by  J.  H.  Newman  in  Library 
of  the  Fathers^  3  vols.,  Oxford,  1842 — 44.  May  also  be  reprinted  in  second  series 
of  Schaff's  edition  of  The  Nicene  attd  Post-Nicene  Fathers.  See  also  H.  Voigt : 
Die  Lehre  des  Athan.  (xvii,  346),  Bremen,  1861  ;  F.  Bohringer  :  Athanasius  und 
Aritis.     Stuttgart,  1874. 


138         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

thodoxy,"  he  is,  on  the  whole,  one  of  the  purest  and 
most  imposing  characters  in  the  history  of  the  Church, 
and  no  one  of  the  Eastern  Church  fathers  enjoyed  so 
high  consideration  in  the  Western  Church  as  Athanasius. 
His  name  is  inseparable  from  the  conflicts  and  the  tri- 
umph of  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  Dr.  Schaff^ 
has  well  said :  ''  He  was  (and  there  are  few  such)  a  theo- 
logical and  churchly  character  in  magnificent,  antique 
style.  He  was  a  man  of  one  mould  and  one  idea.  .  .  St. 
Paul  lived  and  labored  for  Christ  crucified,  Gregory  vii. 
for  the  Roman  hierarchy,  Luther  for  the  doctrine  of  jus- 
tification by  faith,  Calvin  for  the  idea  of  the  sovereign 
grace  of  God.  It  was  the  passion  and  the  life-work  of 
Athanasius  to  vindicate  the  deity  of  Christ,  which  he 
rightly  regarded  as  the  corner-stone  of  the  edifice  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  without  which  he  could  conceive  no 
redemption." 

He  was  present  at  the  Council  of  Nicsea  (325),  and 
distinguished  himself  there  by  his  zeal  and  ability  in 
refuting  Arianism  and  vindicating  the  eternal  deity  of 
Christ,  —  to  which  he  devoted  his  whole  future  life.  In 
328  he  succeeded  Alexander  as  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
which  office  he  held  for  forty-five  years,  during  which 
period  he  was  ten  times  banished,  and  passed  twenty 
years  in  exile,  mainly  in  the  West. 

His  writings  are  mainly  directed  against  Arianism, 
but  his  stormy  life  prevented  him  from  composing  a 
large  systematic  work.  Among  his  dogmatic  and  cow- 
trovers/a/ works  in  defence  of  the  Nicene  faith  especially 
noteworthy  are  the  Four  Orations  against  the  Arians 
(358),  the  Four  Epistles  to  Serapion  on  the  Deity  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  (358),  and  two  books  Against  ApoUinaris, 
in  defence  of  the  full  humanity  of  Christ. 

2.     In  his  History  of  the  Clvistian  Churchy  vol.  3,  p.  890, 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  139 

2)  Gregory Nazianzen  3  {d.  390),  the  Theologian  (in 
the  narrow  sense  of  the  word  as  the  defender  of  the 
deity  of  the  Logos),  though  inferior  to  his  bosom  friend 
Basil  as  a  church  ruler,  and  to  Gregory  of  Nyssa  as  a 
speculative  thinker,  was  superior  to  both  as  an  orator, 
and  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  Chrysostom,was  the 
greatest  orator  of  the  Greek  Church.  His  life,  with  its 
alternations  of  high  station,  monastic  seclusion,  love  of 
severe  studies,  enthusiasm  foT poetry,  nature,  and  friend- 
ship is  intensely  interesting  (Schaff). 

Gass  *  :  In  christology  Gregory  opposed  Arianism 
and  Apollinarianism  ;  in  anthropology  he  teaches  orig- 
inal sin,  and  derives  the  mortality  of  man  from  the  fall. 
But  he  held  to  the  ability  of  the  human  will  to  choose 
the  good,  and  to  the  co-operation  of  man  with  God  in 
salvation  (influenced  by  Origen). 

3)  Basil  the  Great  ^  (Bishop  of  Ceesarea  in  Cappa- 
docia  380—379)  had  all  the  advantages  of  Christian 
training  and  classical  and  philosophical  culture.  His 
life,  which  is  more  interesting  than  a  romance,  was  an 
illustration  of  strong  faith,  of  self-denying  love,  of  high 
aims,  and  of  royal  dignity.    Schaff  ^^ :  ''  Basil  is  disfin- 

3.  See  Carl  Ullmann  :  Gregoritis  von  Nazianz^  der  Theologe.  Darmstadt, 
1825.  Translated  (in  part)  by  G.  F.  Cox.  London,  1857.  His  most  important 
dogmatic  writings  are  his  Five  Theological  Orations  in  defence  of  the  Nicene  doc- 
trine against  the  Eunomians  and  Macedonians,  delivered  in  Constantinople,  and 
republished  and  edited  by  Goldhorn,  in  the  second  volume  of  Thilo's  Bibliotheca 
Patruni  G?-cBCorum  Dogmatica.  Leipsic,  1854.  A  translation  may  appear  in  the 
second  series  of  Schaff' s  edition  of  The  Nicene  and  Post-Nicene  Fathers. 

4.  In  Schaff- Her zog''s  Encyclopcedia. 

5.  His  most  important  dogmatic  works  {Five  Books  against  Eunomitis^  writ- 
ten in  361,  in  defence  of  the  deity  of  Christ,  and  his  work  On  the  Holy  Spirit  ^-wr'it- 
ten  in  375,  to  Amphilochius,  at  his  request)  were  republished,  edited  by  Goldhorn, 
in  the  second  volume  of  Thilo's  Bibliotheca  Patrum  Grcecorum  Dogmatica.  Leip- 
sic, 1854.  A  translation  may  appear  in  the  second  series  of  Schaff's  edition  of  The 
Nicene  and  Post-Nicene  Fathers.  See  Klose:  Basilius  der  Qros^e  nach  setnent 
Leben  und  seiner  Lehre  dargestellt.     Stralsund,  1853, 

6.  la  his  Church  History,  vol.  3,  p.  903, 


140  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

guished  as  a  pulpit  orator  and  as  a  theologian,  and  still 
more  as  a  shepherd  of  souls  and  a  church  ruler ;  and  in 
the  history  of  monasticism  he  holds  a  conspicious  place. 
In  classical  culture  he  yields  to  none  of  his  contempora- 
ries, and  is  justly  placed  with  the  twoGregories  among 
the  very  first  writers  among  the  Greek  fathers." 

At  first,  fearing  Sabellianism,  he  belonged  to  the  mid- 
dle party  (the  Homoiousians)  in  the  great  conflict  be- 
tween Arianism  and  Orthodoxy,  but  the  persecutions 
of  the  Arians  drove  him  to  a  positive  confession  of  the 
Nicene  faith,  and  it  was  by  the  power  of  his  spirit  and 
faith  he  preserved  the  Eastern  Church  during  the  fright- 
ful persecutions  inflicted  by  Valens,  the  Arian. 

4)  Gregory  of  Nyssa''  {d.  about  395),  the  youngest 
of  the  three  Cappadocians  and  the  brother  of  Basil  the 
Great,  was  the  profoundest  theologian  of  the  three,  and 
excelled  his  two  friends  in  philosophic  acumen  and 
scientific  attainments.  Schaff^  :  "  Gregory  did  lasting 
service  in  the  vindication  of  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity 
and  the  Incarnation,  and  in  the  accurate  distinction  be- 
tween essence  and  hypostasis.  Of  all  the  church  teach- 
ers of  the  Nicene  age  he  is  the  nearest  to  Origen.  He  not 
only  follows  his  sometimes  utterly  extravagant  allegor- 
ical method  of  interpretation,  but  even  to  a  great  extent 
falls  in  with  his  dogmatic  views.    With  him,  as  with 

7.  A  selection  of  his  most  important  writings,  in  the  original  Greek,  together 
with  a  German  translation,  has  been  published  by  Frattz  Oehler  in  his  Bibliothek 
der  klrchenvdter,  vols,  i — 4,  Leipsic,  1858 — 59.  Vol,  I  (xvi,  239)  contains  his 
beautiful  dialogue  with  his  sister  Macrina  "  On  the  Soul  and  the  Resurrection,"  and 
the  biography  of  his  sister  addressed  to  the  monk  Olympics.  Vol.  II  (iv,  239)  con- 
tains his  "  Catechetical  Compend  of  the  Christian  Faith,"  "On  the  Trinity,"  etc. 
Vol.  Ill  {p.  315)  contains  his  work  "  On  the  Creation  of  Man,"  and  "  Five  Ora- 
tions on  Prayer."  fW. /F  (viii,  319)  his  "Eulogies  on  Eminent  Saints,"  etc. 
Compare  also  Rupp :  Gregors,  des  Bishofs  von  Nyssa,  Leben  und  Meinungeti. 
Leipsic,  1834.     (Schaff,  however,  calls  this  work  "  unsatisfactory.") 

8.  Church  History.,  vol.  3,  p.  907 — 8. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  141 

Origen,  human  freedom  plays  a  great  part.  Both  are 
ideaHstic,  and  sometimes, without  intending  it  or  know- 
ing it,  fall  into  contradiction  with  the  Church  doctrine, 
especially  in  eschatology.  Gregory  adopts,  for  example, 
the  doctrine  of  the  final  restoration  of  all  things." 

Ueberweg  '^ :  "  In  his  scientific  method  Gregory  fol- 
lows Origen ;  but  he  adopted  the  doctrine  of  the  latter, 
only  in  so  far  as  it  agreed  with  the  orthodox  dogmas. 
He  combats  expressly  such  theories  as  the  pre-existence 
of  the  soul  before  the  body,  and  deviates  from  the  ap- 
proved faith  of  the  Church  only  in  his  leaning  toward 
the  theory  of  a  final  restoration  of  all  things  to  com- 
munion with  God." 

5)  DiDYMUs  called  ''the  Blind"  {d.  395),  though  he 
lost  his  sight  at  the  age  of  four,  by  his  extraordinary 
industry  acquired  an  extensive  learning.  He  became  so 
familiar  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  by  hearing  them  read, 
that  he  knew  them  almost  by  heart.  Athanasius  ap- 
pointed him  as  a  teacher  in  the  catechetical  school  of 
Alexandria  where  he  labored  successfully  for  more  than 
fifty  years.  Jerome,  Rufinus,  Isidore,  Evagrius,  and 
others  were  among  his  pupils.  Though  he  was  orthodox 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  a  zealous  opponent  of 
Arianism,  still  being  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Origen, 
he  shared  some  of  the  extravagant  views  of  that  Fa- 
ther, especially  concerning  the  pre-existence  of  souls  and 
probably  concerning  final  restoration. 

Of  his  many  works  only  few  have  been  preserved.  Of 
his  dogmatic  writings,  we  possess,  however,  a  Latin 
translation  by  Jerome  of  his  treatise  "On  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  and  three  books  "  On  the  Trinity,"  in  the  Greek 

9.  See  his  Histoty  of  Philosophy,  vol.  i,p.  326.  (A  work  which  cannot  be  too 
highly  recommended.) 


142         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

original,  together  with  a  brief  treatise  against  the  Ma- 
nichaeans,  also  in  the  original  Greek. 

6)  Cyril  of  Alexandria  (c?.444)  furnishes  a  striking 
proof  that  orthodoxy  and  piety  are  two  quite  different 
things,  and  that  zeal  for  pure  doctrine  may  co-exist 
with  an  unchristian  spirit  (Schaff).  And  still  with  all 
his  personal  faults,  Cyril  must  be  reckoned  among  the 
greatest  dogmaticians  of  the  Greek  Church.  His  Christ- 
ological  writings  against  Nestorius  and  Theodoret  are 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  history  of  doctrine. 
Among  his  writings  we  may  mention  his  ''Five  Books 
against  Nestorius,"  and  a  doctrinal  work  '*0n  the 
Trinity  and  the  Incarnation." 

7)  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  {d.  386)  took  an  active  part 
in  the  Arian  controversy,  and  at  the  second  oecumen- 
ical council  held  at  Constantinople,  381,  he  received  the 
praise  of  having  suffered  much  from  the  Arians  for  the 
faith.  He  left  us  an  important  theological  work^",  the 
first  example  of  a  popular  compend  of  religion,  which  is 
of  great  value  for  the  study  of  the  history  of  doctrine, 
and  for  the  true  understanding  of  the  liturgy  and  cate- 
chetical methods  of  the  Early  Church. 

3.     The  last  theologian  of  the  Greek  Church. 

1)  John  of  Damascus  ^^  (d.  754)  is  the  last  of  the 
Greek  Fathers,  and  the  most  authoritative  theologian 
in  the  Eastern  Church.  In  his  famous  v^rork  '^The  Fount 
of  Knowledge,'^  he  gives  us  an  epitome  of  the  theology 

10.  His  23  Ca/ec/ieses,  or  catechetical  lectures,  which  he  delivered  while  still  a 
presbyter,  about  the  year  347,  in  preparing  a  class  of  catechumens  for  baptism.  We 
have  this  work  complete  in  the  Greek  original,  and  it  has  been  translated  into 
German  and  English  {Vo/.  2  0/  Oxford  Library  of  the  Fathers^  1839).  May  also 
appear  in  the  second  series  of  Schaff' s  edition  of  The  Nicene  and  Post-Nicene 
Fathers. 

11.  See  Langen  :  Johannes  von  Damaskiis.  Pp.  viii,  311.  Gotha,  1879;  alsQ 
t,upton;  St.  John  of  Damascus,    I-ondon,  j883. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OP  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  l43 

of  the  Greek  Church.  This  work  consists  of  three  sepa- 
rate books.  In  the  first  book,  called  "Heads  of  Philo- 
sophy," in  a  series  of  short  chapters,  we  have  an 
application  of  the  Categories  of  Aristotle  to  theology, 
—  a  work  which  is  valuable  mainly  on  account  of  the 
light  it  throws  upon  the  terminology  of  the  Church  of 
that  period.  In  the  second  part,  '*0n  Heresies",  we 
have  a  description  of  one  hundred  and  three  heresies, 
compiled  mostly  from  Epiphanius.  The  third  part  is  the 
most  important  of  all  —  ''An  accurate  Exposition  of  the 
most  Orthodox  Faith."  In  this  part  he  systematically 
arranges  and  presents  the  various  doctrines  or  dogmas 
as  propounded  by  the  Councils  and  the  Church  Fathers, 
especially  as  presented  by  the  three  great  Cappadocians. 
This  last  part  as  we  now  have  it,  is  divided  into  four 
books:  I.  Theology  proper.  (Here  John  of  Damascus 
maintains  the  Greek  Church  doctrine  of  the  single  pro- 
cession of  the  Holy  Spirit).  II.  Creation,  Anthropology, 
Providence,  Predestination.  III.  Incarnation.  IV.  Per- 
son of  Christ,  States  of  Christ,  Faith,  Baptism,  the  Eu- 
charist, Images,  the  Scriptures,  Virginity,  Circumcision, 
Antichrist,  Resurrection,  etc. 

John  of  Damascus  has  been  called  the  ''Father  of 
Scholasticism"  and  "the  Lombard  of  the  Greeks,"  and 
in  a  certain  sense  he  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Scholas- 
ticism of  the  Middle  Ages. 

III.      THE   WESTERN   CHURCH. 

The  Theologians  of  the  Western  Church  were  dis- 
tinguished by  their  firm  adherence  to  the  Bible,  their 
strong  faith,  their  practical  tendency  in  contradistic- 
tion  to  the  speculations  of  the  Alexandrian  School,  and 
for  their  bold  stand  against  gnosticism  and  all  kinds  of 
heresies. 


144  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

I.     To  the  death  of  Augustine. 

Among  the  most  influential  of  the  Western  Church 
Fathers  of  this  period,  whose  writings  are  mainly  of  a 
dogmatic  character,  we  may  mention  Ireneeus,  Tertul- 
lian,  Cyprian,  Hilary,  and  Augustine. 

1)  Iren^us  1  {d.  202)  spent  his  youth  in  Asia  Minor, 
was  instructed  by  the  venerable  Polycarp  of  Smyrna, 
the  pupil  of  St.  John.  After  178  he  was  bishop  of 
Lyons  in  France. 

ScHAFF  2 :  ''  Irenaeus  is  the  leading  representative  of 
Catholic  Christianity  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  second 
century,  the  champion  of  orthodoxy  against  gnostic 
heresy,  and  the  mediator  between  the  Eastern  and 
Western  churches.  He  is  the  first  of  all  the  church 
teachers  to  give  a  careful  analysis  of  the  work  of  re- 
demption, and  his  view  is  by  far  the  deepest  and  sound- 
est we  find  in  the  first  three  centuries.  On  the  whole, 
he  is  the  most  orthodox  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers.  We 
must  however  except  his  Eschatology." 

It  was  during  the  early  years  of  his  episcopate  at 
Lyons  that  Irenaeus  wrote,  in  Greek,  his  important 
^^ork'' Against  Heresies,'' in  five  books.  The  full  title 
is  "A  Refutation  and  Subversion  of  Knowledge  falsely 
so  called,"  and  ''is  at  once  the  polemic  theological  mas- 
terpiece of  the  Ante-Nicene  age,  and  the  richest  mine  of 
information  respecting  Gnosticism  and  the  Church  doc- 
trine of  that  age." 


1.  Best  edition  of  his  works  by //arz'^y  in  2  vols.  Cambridge,  1857.  English 
translation  in  Coxe's  edition  of  Ante-Nicene  Fathers.  Vol.  i,  pp.  307—602  ;  also 
by  Keble  in  "Oxford  Library  of  Fathers."  Oxford,  1872.  Compare  also  Beaven  : 
Life  and  Writings  0/  Irencetcs.  London,  1841  ;  Duncker :  Des  heil.  Irencvus 
Christologie.     Goettingen,  1843. 

2.  See  his  Church  History^  vol.  2,  pp.  750,  587. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH,  145 

2)  Tertullian^  (d.  220)  is  the  father  of  the  Latin 
ecclesiastical  language,  and  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
Christian  Fathers.  As  a  heathen,  he  distinguished  him- 
self as  an  advocate  and  rhetorician.  He  was  converted 
when  he  was  about  forty  years  of  age.  His  zeal  in  favor 
of  strict  asceticism  and  against  every  kind  of  worldli- 
ness,  led  him  to  become  a  Montanist,  about  201,  when 
about  fifty  years  of  age.  In  developing  his  Christian 
theology,  he  was  influenced  by  the  judicial  habit  of 
mind  resulting  from  his  previous  legal  studies,  while,  in 
defending  it,  he  employed  that  peculiar  eloquence  which 
had  characterized  him  as  an  advocate. 

Kurtz:  ''Although  trained  in  heathen  lore,  Tertul- 
lian  was  fanatically  opposed  to  it,  and  equally  so  to 
Gnosticism.  His  peculiar  mode  of  thinking  and  feeling, 
the  energy  of  his  will,  the  ardor  of  his  affections,  his 
powerful  imagination,  his  tendency  towards  the  strict- 
est asceticism,  and  his  predilection  for  realism,  found 
full  scope  for  development  in  Montanism.  If,  withal,  he 
kept  free  from  many  aberrations  of  Montanism,  this 
must  be  ascribed  to  his  clear  understanding  and,  how- 
ever much  he  may  have  despised  it,  to  his  thorough 
scientific  training." 

Schaff:  ''Tertullian's  theology  revolves  about  the 
great  Pauline  antithesis  of  sin  and  grace,  and  breaks  the 
road  to  the  Latin  anthropology  and  soteriology,  after- 

3.  Best  edition  of  his  works  by  Oehler  in  3  vols.  Leipsic,  1853-54.  For 
students  we  would  especially  recommend  March :  Select  Works  of  Tertullian. 
New  York,  1876,  (Contains  Ad  Martyres,  De  testimonio  am'mce,  Apologett'cus, 
Ad  Scapulam,  and  De  spectaculis).  English  Translation  in  Goxe's  edition  of 
Ante-Nicene  Fathers^  vol.  3,  pp.  745,  and  vol.  4,  pp.  1-126.  For  Monographs  see 
'^Q^xA^x'.Antignosticiis^  Geist  des  Tertulliantis  und  Einleitung  itt  dessen  Schrif- 
ten.  2nd  ed.  Berlin,  1849.  Translated  into  English  by  Ryland  in  2  vols.  London, 
1859,  Kaye :  Ecclesiastical  History  of  second  and  third  Centuries,  illustrated 
from  the  writings  of  Tertullian.  3d  ed.  London,  1845.  Hauck :  Tertulliafi's 
Leben  itnd  Schriften.     Pp.  410.     E'langen,  1877. 


146  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

ward  developed  by  his  like-minded,  but  clearer,  calmer, 
and  more  considerate  countryman,  Augustine." 

The  writings  of  TertuUian  (as  classified  by  Neander) 
are  1)  partly  apologetic,  addressed  to  the  heathens,  and 
relating  to  the  conduct  of  the  Christians  under  persecu- 
tion; 2)  partly  ethical  or  ascetic,  and  3)  partly  dogma- 
tic and  polemical.  They  can  also  at  the  same  time  be 
arranged  chronologically,  i.  e.,  some  books  were  written 
before  he  became  a  Montanist  (before  200—201  A.  d.), 
and  some  after  this  period. 

We,  here,  have  only  to  do  with  the  third  class  of 
writings.  The  principal  dogmatic  or  polemical  Ante- 
Montanistic  work  is  the  well-known  treatise '' On  the 
Prescription  of  Heretics.''  In  it  TertuUian  lays  down 
the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Church  in  dealing  with 
heretics. 

Of  the  Montanistic  writings  of  a  dogmatic  character 
we  may  especially  mention  his  ^^  Five  Books  against 
Marcion,''  in  which  he  elaborately  defends  the  unity  of 
God,  the  integrity  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  harmony 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  His  tracts  ''On  the 
Fiesh  of  Christ,''  '' OntheSoul,"  ''On  the  Resurrection  of 
theFlesh,"  " Against Hermogenes,"  " Against  Praxeas" , 
are  important  to  the  history  of  Christian  doctrine. 

Cardinal  Newman  calls  TertuUian  ''the  most  power- 
ful writer  of  the  early  centuries". 

3)  Cyprian*  {d.  258),  at  first  a  heathen  rhetorician, 
afterwards  bishop  of  Carthage  (248— 258),  was  equally 


4.  Best  critical  edition  of  his  works  by  Hartel  in  3  vols.  Vienna,  1868-71.  A 
convenient  manual  edition  by  Gold/torn  is  found  in  volumes  2  and  3  (vill,  256; 
VIII,  279)  of  Gersdoi-fs  Bibliotheca  Patrum  ecclesiasticorum  Latinortmi  selecta. 
Leipsic,  1838-39.  English  Translation  by  Wallis^  in  Coxe's  edition  of  the  Ante- 
Nicene  Fathers^  vol.  5,  pp.  261-596.  Compare  also  Poole  :  Life  and  Ttjnes  of 
Cyprian.  Pp.  419.  Oxford,  1840  ;  Benson  :  In  Smith  and  Wace  Diet.  vol.  i^pp. 
739-55;  Rettberg :  Cyprian  us  dargestellt  nach  seinem  Leben  und  Wirken.  (xil, 
399).    Goitingen,  1831. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  147 

distinguished  by  a  firm  adherence  to  the  idea  of  one, 
holy,  visible  Church,  and  by  zeal,  faithfulness,  vigor, 
and  prudence  in  the  administration  of  his  duties. 

Schaff:  '^As  Origen  was  the  ablest  scholar,  and 
TertuUian  the  strongest  writer,  so  Cyprian  was  the 

greatest  bishop,  of  the  third  century His  peculiar 

importance  falls  not  so  much  in  the  field  of  theology, 
where  he  lacks  originality  and  depth,  as  in  Church  or- 
ganization and  discipline He  is  the  typical  high 

churchman  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Age He  knew  how 

to  combine  strictness  and  moderation,  dignity  and  gen- 
tleness, and  to  inspire  love  and  confidence,  as  well  as 
esteem  and  veneration". 

The  most  important  works  of  Cyprian  relate  to 
practical  questions  on  church  goverment  and  discipline, 
such  as  ''  The  Unity  of  the  Church ;'  ''  On  the  Lapsed,'' 
^'On  Works  and  Alms,''  etc. 

4)  Hilary  of  Poitiers  ^  {d.  368),  so  named  from  his 
birth-place  and  subsequent  bishopric  in  southwestern 
France,  was  the  Athanasius  of  the  West. 

Semisch  ^5 :  '*  He  shone  like  a  clear  star  alongside  of 
the  great  champions  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  —  Athanasius, 
Basil,  and  the  two  Gregories.  Among  the  teachers  of 
the  West  of  his  day  he  was  beyond  dispute  the  first,  and 
bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  TertuUian,  both  in  dis- 
position and  scientific  method His  distinguishing 

characteristics  were  fidelity  to  the  Church  creed,  acute- 
ness  in  argument,  and  resolution  in  action.  His  power 
lay  essentially  in  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
Scriptures.  His  Christologyis  full  of  fresh  and  inspiring 
thoughts,  and  deserves  to  be  better  known  than  it  is". 

5.  Compare  Baltzer  :  Die  Theologie  des  heil.  Hilarius  von  Poitiers.  Pp.  511. 
Rottweil,  1879.  An  English  translation  may  appear  in  ■S'^(:^«(/ series  of  Schaff's 
edition  of  The  Nicene  and  Post-Nicene  Fathers. 

6.  In  Schaff-Herzog, 


148  INTRODUCTION   TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

His  writings  are  distinguished  for  deep  and  earnest 
discussions  of  dogmatic  theology,  and  he  greatly  con- 
tributed to  the  settlement  of  the  orthodox  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  and  of  the  Person  of  Christ. 

The  great  work  of  his  life  was  the  writing,  in  exile 
(356—361),  of  his  '^  Twelve  Books  on  the  Trinity,''  to 
which  he  afterwards  added  various  tracts  against 
Arianism. 

5)  Augustine'^  {d.  430),  for  thirty-five  years  bishop 
of  Hippo,  a  town  lying  200  milefe  west  of  Carthage, 
was  the  intellectual  head  of  the  North  African  and  the 
entire  Western  Church  of  his  time. 

ScHAFF^:  ''Augustine  is  a  philosophical  and  theol- 
ogical genius  of  the  first  order,  towering  like  a  pyramid 
above  his  age,  and  looking  down  commandingly  upon 

succeeding  ages As  a  theologian  he  is  facile  prin- 

ceps,  at  least  surpassed  by  no  church  father,  scholastic, 

or  reformer He  combined  the  creative  power  of 

Tertullian  with  the  churchly  spirit  of  Cyprian,  the  spec- 
ulative intellect  of  the  Greek  Church  with  the  practical 
tact  of  the  Latin.  He  was  a  Christian  philosopher  and 
a  philosophical  theologian  to  the  full With  pro- 
fundity he  combined  an  equal  clearness  and  sharpness  of 
thought.    He  was  an  extremely  skilful  and  a  successful 

7.  For  an  English  Translation  of  the  works  of  Augustine  see  Schaff's  edition 
of  T/ie  Nicene  and  Post-Nicene  Fathers.  First  Series,  Volumes  i-8.  This  is  by 
far  the  most  valuable  edition  of  Augustine's  works  ever  published,  4n  account  of 
its  valuable  Introductions  and  Bibliographical  notes.  See  especially  Bittdematin: 
Der  heil.  Aiigustimis.  3  vols.  (vol.  I,  Berlin,  1844;  ii,  Leipsic,  1855;  lii,  Greifs- 
wald,  1869).  ('The  best  work  in  German'').  See  also  Cutts :  St.  Augustin. 
London,  1880 ;  Schaff  in  his  St.  Augustin^  Melanchthon  and  Neander.  New 
York,  1886. 

On  the  theology  of  Augustine  see  Aug.  Dorner :  Augustinus,  sein  theol. 
System,  etc.  Berlin,  1873  ;  and  the  same  writer's  article  in  Plitt-Herzog  (abridged 
in  Schaff-Herzog).  Ueberweg's  criticism  of  the  Philosophy  of  Augustine,  in  his 
fjistory  of  Philosophy  (Vol.  i.  pp.  333-346)  is  very  satisfactory, 

8,  In  his  Church  History.,  Vol.  3,  pp.  994-99Q. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  149 

dialectician,  inexhaustible  in  arguments  and  in  answers 

to  the  objections  of  his  adversaries In  him  was 

concentrated  the  whole  polemic  power  of  the  Catholicism 
of  the  time  against  heresy  and  schism,  and  in  him  it 
won  the  victory  over  them." 

BiNDEMANN  •'  :  ''St.  Augustinc  is  one  of  the  greatest 
personages  in  the  Church.  He  is  second  in  importance 
to  none  of  the  teachers  who  have  wrought  most  in  the 
Church  since  the  Apostolic  time ;  and  it  can  well  be  said 
that  among  the  Church  Fathers  the  first  place  is  due  to 
him,  and  in  the  time  of  the  Reformation  a  Luther  alone, 
for  fulness  and  depth  of  thought  and  grandeur  of  char- 
acter, may  stand  by  his  side.  He  is  the  summit  of  the 
mediaeval  Western  Church;  from  him  descended  the 
mysticism,  no  less  than  the  scholasticism,  of  the  middle 
ages;  he  was  one  of  the  strongest  pillars  of  Roman  Cath- 
olicism, and  from  his  works,  next  to  the  Holy  Script- 
ures, especially  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  the  leaders  of  the 
Reformation  drew  most  of  that  conviction  by  which  a 
new  age  was  introduced". 

His  writings  bear  upon  almost  all  the  departments 
of  theology,  and  may  be  characterized  as  forming  an  era 
in  theological  literature.  Of  the  different  works  of  Au- 
gustine (1)  Autobiographical,  2)  Philosophical,  3)  Apol- 
ogetic, 4)  Religious-Theological,  5)  Polemic-Theological, 
6)  Exegetical,  and  7)  Ethical  and  Practical)  we  here 
have  to  do  mainly  with  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes.  Of 
his  Religious-Theological  works  we  would  especially 
mention  ^^  Four  Books  on  Christian  Doctrine'^  (the  best 
patristic  work  on  Biblical  Hermeneutics),  and  ^'  The  En- 
chiridion^' ^^'  or  "On  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love"  (a  brief 

9.  Ih  the  preface  of  his  monograph  on  Augustine,  already  cited  (quoted  by 
Sc/iaj^). 

10.  Under  the  topic  Faith  he  follows  the  order  of  the  Apostles'  Creed  and 
refutes,  without  naming  them,  the  Manichsean,  Apollinarian,  Arian,  and  Pelagian 
heresies.     Under  Hope  he  explains  The  Lorcfs  Prayer. 


150  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

compend  of  Christian  faith  and  morals,  written  at  the 
request  of  a  certain  Laurentius). 

But  his  Polemico— Theological  works  are  the  most 
important  in  the  history  of  doctrine.  These  again  may 
be  subdivided  (1)  Anti-Manich^an,  2)  Anti-Donatistic, 
3)  Anti-Arian,  4)  Anti-Pelagian).  In  the  Anti-Man- 
ichasan  writings  ^  ^ ,  Augustine  treats  of  the  origin  of  evil, 
of  free  will,  of  revelation  and  nature,  of  the  authority  of 
the  Scriptures  and  the  Church,  etc. 

The  Anti-Donatistic  works  ^  ^  contain  Augustine's 
doctrine  of  the  Church,  the  Sacraments,  and  of  Church- 
discipline. 

Of  the  Anti-Arian  writings,  which  treat  of  the  Deity 
of  Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  most  important 
treatise  is  that  on  the  ''Holy  Trinity '\  in  fifteen  books. 
"It  is  the  most  elaborate,  and  probably  also  the  ab- 
lest and  profoundest  patristic  discussion  of  this  central 
doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion,  unless  we  except  the 
''Orations  against  the  Arians"  by  Athanasius,  ''the 
Father  of  Oorthodoxy ",  who  devoted  his  life  to  the 
defense  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ.  Augustine  bestowed 
more  time  and  care  upon  it  than  on  any  other  book, 
except  ' '  the  City  of  God  "  ^  ^ .  But  the  most  valuable  of 
all  the  writings  of  Augustine  were  his  Anti-Pelagian 
works  1  *.  All  these  were  written  after  412,  and  in  them 

11.  A  translation  of  the  more  important  of  these  {On  the  Morals  of  the  Cath- 
olic Churchy  On  the  Morals  of  the  Manichceans,  On  two  Souls,  Thirty- three  Books 
against  Faustus  the  Manichcsan^  On  the  Nature  of  the  Good,  etc.)  is  given  in  vol. 
4  {pp.  1-365)  of  Schaff's  Nicene  and  Post-Nicene  Fathers  (First  Series), 

12.  Three  of  the  most  important  treatises  {On  Baptism,  Answer  to  the  Letters 
of  Petilian,  The  Correction  of  the  Dojiatists)  are  given  in  vol.  4  {pp.  367-675)  of 
the  work  cited  in  last  note. 

13.  See  Preface  of  Vol.  3  of  Schaff's  Nicene  ajtd  Post-Nicene  Fathers  (First 
Series)  which  among  other  important  doctrinal  treatises  of  Augustine,  contains  the 
translation  of  this  work  "  On  the  Holy  Trinity'^  {pp.  1-228). 

14.  The  most  important  of  these  ("  On  the  Spirit  and  the  Letter"  (413  A.  d.), 
"  On  Nature  and  Grace"  (415),  "  On  Grace  and  Free  Will"  (426),  '•  On  Discipline 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  151 

he  develops  his  systemof  anthropology  and  soteriology, 
and  most  nearly  approaches  the  position  of  Evangelical 
Protestantism. 

We  cannot  leave  Augustine  v^ithout  referring  to  his 
great  Apologetic  work,  "  The  City  of  God  ^^  in  twenty- 
two  books,  the  only  Christian  philosophy  of  history 
known  for  over  a  thousand  years.  ''It  is  the  master- 
piece of  the  greatest  genius  among  the  Latin  Fathers, 
and  the  best  known  and  most  read  of  his  works,  except 
the  'Confessions'.  It  embodies  the  results  of  thirteen 
years  of  intellectual  labor  and  study  (413-426  a.  d.). 
It  is  a  vindication  of  Christianity  against  the  attacks 
of  the  heathen  in  view  of  the  sacking  of  the  city  of 
Rome  by  the  barbarians.  ...  It  is  the  first  attempt  of 
a  philosophy  of  history,  under  the  aspect  of  two  rival 
cities  or  communities,  the  eternal  city  of  God  and  the 
perishing  city  of  the  world  "  ^  '\ 

The  formal  principle  of  the  doctrinal  system  of  Aug- 
ustine is  the  Authority  of  the  Church,  the  material  prin- 
ciple, the  free  redeeming  Grace  of  God  in  Christ. 

2.     To  the  Close  of  the  Ninth  Century. 

1)  Vincent  of  Lerins  ^*^  (d.  450)  a  monk  in  the  cel- 
ebrated monastery  of  Lerinum  (a  small  island  in  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  formerly  belonging  to  Roman  Gaul) , 
in  his  famous  book  Commonitoriutn  gives  us  the  most 
complete  representation  of  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrine 
of  tradition.  As  a  test  of  true  doctrine  he  propounded 
the  maxim,  which  has  since  remained  the  standard  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church:  "We  must  hold  what  has 

and  Grace"  (427),  "  On  the  Predestination  of  the  Saints  "  (428),  "  On  the  Gift  of 
Perseverance"  (429),  etc.)  are  given  in  Vol.  5  of  Schaff's  "Nicene  and  Post-Nicene 
Fathers"  (First  Series).     Pp.  Lxxi,  567. 

15.  See  Preface  to  Vol.  2  of  Series  just  cited. 

16.  For  a  full  analysis  of  his  "  Commonitorium  "  see  Schmidt  in  first  edition 
of  Herzog's  Real'Encykl. 


152  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

been  everywhere,  always,  and  by  all  believed  ".^ '  This 
work  also  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of 
doctrines,  for  its  Semipelagian  character  and  its  antag- 
onism to  Augustine  are  clearly  discernible. 

2)  Gennadius  of  Marseilles  {Bourished  500  a.  d.) 
a  Semi-Pelagian  presbyter  of  South  Gaul,  in  his  *'De 
Fide  mea  sive  dogmatibus  ecclesiasticis "  gives  us  a 
compend  of  Christian  doctrine. 

3)  Isidore  {d.  636),  bishop  of  Seville,  in  Spain,  for 
thirty  six  3^ears,  was  the  greatest  scholar  of  his  day. 
He  wrote  on  nearly  every  branch  of  science  then  know^n. 
His  most  important  theological  w^ork  is  a  compend  of 
Theolog3'  compiled  from  Augustine  and  the  '' Moralia^^ 
of  Gregory  the  Great,  knowm  under  the  title  of  "  Senten- 
tiarum  sive  de  Summo  Bono  Libri  III."  The  first  book 
treats  of  Dogmatics  and  the  last  two  of  Ethics.  The 
influence  of  this  work  during  the  Middle  Ages  was  very 
great,  and  innumerable  copies  w^ere  made  of  it,  and  it 
led  to  the  preparation  of  similar  works,  like  Peter  Lom- 
bard's ^^  Sentences y 

4)  John  Scotus  Erigena^^  {d.  about  877)  was  of 
Scottish  nationality,  probably  born  and  brought  up  in 
Ireland,  but  he  spent  his  later  life  at  the  court  of  Charles 
the  Bald  of  France.  He  was  undoubtedly  the  most^ 
learned  man,  and  the  deepest,  boldest,  and  most  in- 
dependent thinker  of  his  time.  His  speculations  have 
not  been  surpassed  for  centuries  before  or  after  him. 
In  his  own  time  he  was  neither  understood  nor  appre- 
ciated, and  scarcely  deemed  even  worthy  of  being 
declared  a  heretic  {Kurtz). 

His  greatest  work  is  his  treatise  ^^De  Divisione  Nat- 

17.  "  Ut  id  teneamus  quod  ubigtie^  quod  semper,  quod  ab  ofnmbiis  creditum 
est". 

18.  Compare  Th.  Christlieb :  Leben  und  Lehre  des  yoh.  Scotus  Erigena. 
Gotha,  1S60  ;  Ueberweg  :  History  of  Philosophy.     Vol.  i.  pp.  3SS-365. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH.  153 

urae  "^  ^  in  five  books,  condemned  to  be  burned  by  Pope 
Honorius  III  (1225)  as  *'a  book  teeming  with  the 
worms  of  heretical  depravity",  and  still  later  put  on 
the  ''Index"  by  a  bull  of  Gregory  XIII  (1685).  This 
is  a  kind  of  speculative  theology,  which,  starting  from 
the  supposition  of  the  unity  of  philosophy  and  theol- 
ogy, ends  as  a  system  of  idealistic  pantheism,  philos- 
ophy having  in  the  course  of  the  development  entirely 
absorbed  theology. 

Scotus  divides  nature,  in  which  conception  he  in- 
cludes all  that  is  either  existent  or  non-existent— into 
four  species:  1)  that  which  creates  and  is  not  created 
(God),  2)  that  which  is  created  and  creates  (Logos), 
3)  that  which  is  created  and  does  not  create  (World), 
and  4)  that  which  neither  is  created  nor  creates.  By 
this  last  is  not  meant  a  fourth  nature,  distinct  from 
the  other  three,  but  God,  viewed  as  the  term  in  which 
all  things  end,  and  to  which  all  finally  return. 

In  the  controversy  respecting  predestination,  he 
taught  that  there  was  only  one  predestination,  to  eter- 
nal salvation. 

Scotus  Erigena,  sometimes,  has  been  called  "the 
Father  of  Scholasticism",  but  he  is  rather  the  founder 
of  Speculative  Philosophy  in  the  line  of  Spinoza,  Schell- 
ing,  and  especially  Hegel.  ''  The  scholastics  drew  from 
him,   but  he  was  not  a  scholastic.    The  mystics  drew 

from  him,  but  he  was  not  a  mystic He  is  one  of 

the  most  interesting  figures  among  the  medieeval  writ- 
ers.   He  demands  study  and  he  rewards  it "  ^  ^ . 

5)  BoETHius^^  (beheaded  at  Pavia  525),  one  of  the 

19.  German  Translation  by  L.  Noack  :  "  Erigena  ueber  die  Eintheilung  der 
Natur."    3  pts.  Leipsic,  1874-7. 

20.  See  Schaff's  "  Church  History",  vol.  4,  p.  773. 

21.  See  Fr.  Nitzsch  :  "Das  System  des  Boethius  und  die  ihm  zugeschriebenen 
theol.  Schriften.     Berlin,  i860. 


154  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

last  Neo-Platonists  of  antiquity,  through  his  '^  Consola- 
tion of  Philosophy  ^\  as  also  through  his  translation 
and  exposition  of  some  of  the  logical  writings  of  Aris- 
totle, became  the  most  influential  connecting  link  be- 
tween ancient  and  mediaeval  learning.  His  ''Consolatio" 
was  very  popular  during  the  Middle- Ages,  and  was 
translated  into  various  languages  (Greek,  Old  High  Ger- 
man, Anglo-Saxon,  Norman-English,  French,  Hebrew), 
but  it  is  a  question  whether  Boethius  was  a  Christian. 
The  work  is  but  an  echo  of  Greek  philosophy,  of  the 
school  of  Plato  or  Seneca. 

SECTION  XVI. 

THE  DOGMATICS   OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

The  Dogmatics  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  in- 
fluenced by  Scholasticism  and  by  the  antithesis 
of  Kealism  and  Nominalism. 

I.     The  essential  Character  of  Scholasticism  i . 

Scholasticism  was  the  reproduction  of  ancient  philos- 
ophy under  the  control  of  ecclesiastical  doctrine.  In 
matters  common  to  philosophy  and  theology,  the  lat- 
ter was  received  as  the  absolute  norm  and  criterion  of 
truth.  Its  tides  praecedit  intellectum  was  uttered  in 
the  interest  of  the  doctrines  of  a  Church  which  claimed 
to  be  infallible. 

The  Scholastics  did  not  add  new  dogmas,  nor  alter 
them  with  respect  to  their  essential  contents.  Having 
the  materials  for  the  formation  of  a  doctrinal  system  of 
Christianity  in  the  dogmas  as  formulated  and  fixed  by 
the  oecumenical  councils  of  the  Church,  it  was  their  task 

I.  Compare  Thomasius  :  Dogmengeschichte.  Vol,  2.  //.  31-66  ;  Ueberweg: 
History  0/  Philosophy.  Vol.  i.  //.  355-484;  Hampden:  The  Scholastic  Philos- 
ophy considered  in  its  relation  to  Christian  Philosophy.  3rd  Edition.   London,  '38 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  155 

to  gather  these  materials,  sift,  arrange,  preserve,  and 
apply  them.  But  it  was  also  a  treatment  of  these  dog- 
mas. They  sought  to  give  to  each  doctrine  a  rational 
foundation,  sufficient  to  elevate  it  from  a  mere  matter 
of  faith  to  a  matter  of  science.  They  hoped  to  form  the 
v^hole  mass  of  dogmas  into  a  perfect  system.  Some,  in- 
deed, hoped  to  create  a  philosophy  of  Christianity,  and 
to  bring  about  a  perfect  unity  between  faith  and  sci- 
ence, theology  and  philosophy.  They  proceeded  from 
the  supposition  that  the  whole  contents  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  i.  e.,  each  single  dogma  or  doctrine  is  ab- 
solute, divine  truth, — but  the  warrant  for  this  supposi- 
tion was  not  sought  for  in  Scripture,  nor  in  the  essence 
of  Christianity,  nor  in  the  nature  of  man  (a  favorite 
theory  of  so  many  modem  philosophers),  but  in  the 
authority  of  the  Church  and  her  tradition. 

With  all  the  censure  heaped  in  after  times  upon  the 
barrenness  of  Scholastic  speculation,  it  was  wonder- 
fully acute,  and  it  has  rich  results  to  invite  the  scholar 
to  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  it. 

The  period  of  its  highest  bloom  and  most  complete 
development  was  characterized  by  the  thorough  mas- 
tery of  Aristotle  and  the  ascendency  of  his  authority 
in  matters  of  philosophy.  Aristotle  came  to  be  called 
^^ precursor  Christi  in  naturalibus^\  just  as  John  the 
Baptist  was  called   ^^ precursor  Christi  in  gratuitis^\ 

The  antithesis  of  Realism  and  Nominalism  influenced 
the  whole  history  of  the  theology  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Extreme  Realism,  the  doctrine  of  Plato,  maintained 
that  universals  or  general  ideas  have  an  independent 
existence  apart  from  individual  objects,  and  that  they 
exist  before  the  latter  {universalia  ante  rem,  in  God's 
mind) ;  moderate  Realism,  the  doctrine  of  Aristotle, 
maintained  that  universals,  while  possessing  indeed  a 


156         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

real  existence,  exist  only  in  individual  objects  (univer- 
salia  in  re,  in  things),  and  this  view  was  the  bond 
between  theology  and  philosophy ;  Nominalism,  on  the 
other  hand,  maintained  that  only  individuals  have  real 
existence,  and  that  universals  are  merely  the  products 
of  the  human  reason,  nothing  but  a  concept  of  man's 
mind  {universalia  post  rem,  in  man's  thoughts),  and 
this  last  view  separated  the  bond  between  theology 
and  philosophy,  and  led  to  scepticism  in  spiritual 
matters. 

Of  the  earlier  period,  Augustine  and  Boethius  were 
decided  Realists;  so  also  John  Scotus  Erigena  of  the 
ninth  century.  The  great  Realists  of  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries  were  Anselm,  William  of  Champeaux 
and  Bernard  of  Clairvaux ;  of  the  thirteenth,  Alexander 
of  Hales,  Bonaventura,  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas 
Aquinas  and  Duns  Scotus.  The  chief  Nominalists  were 
Roscellinus  and  William  of  Occam.  Abelard  was  a 
moderate  Nominalist  or  Conceptualist. 

2.     The  Beginnings  of  Scholasticism. 

1)  Anselm  of  Canterbury  ^  (d.  1109),  the  father 
of  orthodox  scholasticism,  the  Augustine  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  was  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  from  1093  to  his 
death.  He  regarded  faith  as  the  necessary  condition  of 
all  true  knowledge,  and  defined  the  object  of  scholastic 
theology  to  be  the  logical  development  and  demonstra- 
tion of  the  doctrines  of  the  church  such  as  they  were 
handed  down  by  the  Fathers.  By  his  ^^  Credo,  ut  in- 
telligam^\  he  means  that  Christians  should  advance 
from  direct  faith  to  whatever  degree  of  scientific  insight 
may  be  attainable  by  them,  but  always  on  the  condi- 

2.  See  Hasse  :  Anselm  von  Canterbury.  2  vols.  Leipsic,  1843-52.  An  ab- 
ridged English  translation  by  Turner^  London,  1850  ;  see  also  Church  :  Life  of 
St.  Anselm.     London,  1875. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  157 

tion  that  the  Christian  Creed,  alreadj^  fixed  in  dogmatic 
form,  remain  untouched  and  be  regarded  as  the  ab- 
solute norm  for  thought.  Anselm  requires,  therefore, 
unconditional  submission  to  the  authority  of  the 
Church. 

As  a  metaphysician  he  was  a  Realist,  and  one  of  his 
earliest  works  {De  Fide  Trinitatis)  was  written  against 
the  Nominalism  of  Roscellinus.  The  fame  of  Anselm 
chiefly  rests  on  his  two  celebrated  works,  ^'Proslogium^^ 
and  "  Cur  Deus  homo ?''  ^  In  the  first  he  sets  forth  the 
ontological  proof  of  the  existence  of  God,  as  following 
from  the  very  idea  which  we  have  of  him,  existence  for- 
ming one  of  the  necessary  attributes  of  God.  In  the  last 
Anselm  treats  of  the  doctrine  of  redemption  and  satis- 
faction, and  develops  the  theory  of  vicarious  atone- 
ment, which  was  afterwards  adopted  by  the  Church. 

It  is  a  characteristic  of  Anselm  that  he  sought  to 
establish  on  rational  grounds  not  only  the  existence  of 
God,  but  also  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  of  In- 
carnation. 

3)  Roscellinus  has  often  been  named  as  the  founder 
of  Nominalism.  He  attracted  special  attention  to  the 
dangerous  tendency  of  Nominalism  by  applying  his 
philosophical  views  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
maintaining  that  our  conception  of  the  Deity  was  only 
an  intellectual  abstraction,  and  that  the  three  persons 
of  the  Godhead  could  not  be  spoken  of  as  One,  and  con- 
sequently the  Trinity  became  to  him  three  Gods.  In  the 
year  1092  the  Council  of  Soissons  compelled  him  to 
recant  his  tritheistic  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and  he  soon  disappears  from  history. 

4)  William  of  Champeaux  {d.  1122),  an  intimate 

3.  In  two  books,  and  frequently  published  separately  (Erlangen,  1834  ;  Berlin, 
1857;  London,  1863).  E,ng\\s\i  ttansXaXions  oi  Cur  Deus  hotno  ?  a.nd  Pfoslogmm 
are  found  in  Bibliotheca  Sacra  (Vol.  8,  9,  12). 


158  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

friend  of  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  was  the  special  cham- 
pion of  Realism  in  France,  but  was  defeated  byAbelard. 
In  his  ^^  De  Origine  Anitnee''  he  pronounced  himself  in 
favor  of  Creationistn,  and  from  his  ''De  Bucharistia^^  it 
is  evident  that  in  his  time  the  Lord's  Supper  was  still 
generally  administered  ''in  both  kinds". 

5)  Abelard  {d.  1142)  adopted  a  position  of  his  own 
between  the  Nominalism  of  Roscellinus  and  the  Realism 
of  Anselm,  but  his  doctrine  did  not  differ  much  from 
strict  Nominalism.  In  theology  as  well  as  in  philos- 
ophy, he  is  merely  a  critic.  Through  him  was  prepared 
in  the  Middle  Ages  the  ascendency  of  the  philosophical 
authority  of  Aristotle,  which  became  firmly  established 
within  a  half  century  of  his  death.  In  comparison  with 
the  rigid  orthodoxy  of  Anselm,  Abelard  shows  a  strong 
rationalistic  tendency,  and  his  dialectics  drove  him  on 
almost  every  point  beyond  the  pale  of  the  faith  of  the 
Church,  yet  it  is  to  him  as  much  as  to  Anselm  that  the 
theology  of  the  Middle  Ages  owes  its  dialectical  form. 
In  his  ^^  Introd actio  ad  theologiam^^  he  lays  down  the 
principle  (in  opposition  to  Anselm 's  Credo,  ut  intelli- 
gani)  that  rational  insight  must  prepare  the  way  for 
faith,  since  without  it,  faith  is  not  sure  of  its  truth 
(nihil  credi  posse,  nisi  prius  intellectum ;  intelligo  ut 
credam). 

Although  Abelard  decidedly  rejected  the  Tritheism  of 
Roscellinus,  still  in  his  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  he  verges 
towards  Monarchianism,  (explaining  the  three  persons 
as  being  God's  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  potentia, 
sapientia  et  benignitas),  though  he  did  not  confess  this 
consequence. 

In  his  bold  work  ^' Sic  et  Non^\ — which  consists  of 
quotations  from  the  fathers  arranged  in  harmony  with 
the  Loci  theologici,  but  contradicting  each  other  at 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  159 

every  point  without  any  solution  being  offered — he 
seeks  to  maintain  his  independence  of  patristic  author- 
ity. This  work  estabHshes  the  fact,  that  only  what  is 
contained  in  the  canonical  Scriptures  is  without  ex- 
ception and  unconditionally  true  and  that  no  one  of 
the  Church  Fathers  may  be  regarded  as  of  equal  au- 
thority with  the  Apostles. 

The  most  brilliant  period  of  Abelard's  life  was  about 
twenty-five  years  before  his  death.  His  fame  as  a  teach- 
er was  then  at  its  height,  and  thousands  of  pupils  gath- 
ered around  him  in  Paris.  Nearly  all  the  great  men  of 
the  age,  both  within  and  without  the  Church,  heard 
Abelard.  But  this  brilliant  career  was  suddenly  checked 
by  his  relation  to  Heloise. 

About  1135,  seven  years  before  his  death,  his  conflict 
with  his  great  opponent,  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  begins. 
Bernard  complained  of  the  rationalistic  tendency  of 
Abelard  and  affirmed  that  he  '  *  savored  of  Arius  when 
he  spoke  of  the  Trinity  ",  *^  of  Pelagius  when  he  spoke 
of  grace  ",  *'  of  Nestorius  when  he  spoke  of  the  person  of 
Christ",  and  that  **  while  he  labored  to  prove  Plato  a 
Christian,  he  showed  himself  a  heathen". 

6)  Bernard  of  Clairvaux*  {d.  1153),  the  great 
opponent  of  Abelard,  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
Christian  teachers  and  representatives  of  monasticism 
in  the  Middle  Ages.  He  founded  the  famous  monastery 
of  Clairvaux,  and  at  his  death  left  behind  him  one 
hundred  and  sixty  monasteries,  which  had  been  formed 
by  monks  from  Clairvaux.  He  is  the  *'last  of  the  Fa- 
thers ",  representing  what  is  called  the  positive,  patris- 
tic school.    In  his  writings  Bernard  exhibits  a  decided 

4.  SQQ'i>iea.ndQT'.  Ber  ket'Hge  Bernhard,etc.  Third  edition  (viii,  392),  (Vol, 
12  of  collected  works).  Gotha,  1865.  (The  first  edition  was  translated  into  English, 
London,  1843).     Morison  :  Life  and  Times  of  St.  Bernard.    London,  1863. 


160  INTRODtrCTtON  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

antagonism  to  the  speculations  of  his  day,  and  a  deep 
love  for  contemplative  or  rather  mystical,  theology.  ^ 

Robertson:^  ''Bernard  found  himself,  apparently 
without  design  and  even  unconsciously,  elevated  to  a 
position  of  such  influence  as  no  ecclesiastic,  either  before 
or  since  his  time,  has  attained.  Declining  the  ecclesias- 
tical dignities  to  which  he  saw  a  multitude  of  his  fol- 
lowers promoted,  the  Abbot  of  Clairvaux  v^as  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  the  real  soul  and  director  of  the 
Papacy ;  he  guided  the  policy  of  Emperors  and  Kings, 
and  swayed  the  deliberations  of  councils ;  nay,  however 
little  his  character  and  the  training  of  his  own  mind 
might  have  fitted  him  for  such  a  work,  the  authority  of 
his  sanctity  was  such  as  even  to  control  the  intellectual 
development  of  the  age  which  owned  him  as  its  master". 

7)  The  YiCTORiNES— Hugo,  Richard,  and  Walter,— 
so  called  from  the  abbey  of  St.  Victor  at  Paris,  adhered 
closely  to  the  dogmas  of  the  Church,  which  they  endeav- 
ored to  explain  and  support.  All  of  them  combined  the 
cultivation  of  the  dialectics  of  the  age  with  a  more  spir- 
itual and  mystical  turn  of  mind. 

a)  Hugo  of  St.  Victor''  {d.  1141)  was  one  of  the 
profoundest  thinkers  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  a  man  of 
great  learning.  He  is  the  real  founder  of  the  mediaeval 
mysticism  of  France.  His  theological  views  are  unfolded 
in  his  ^'Summa  Sententiarum'\  and  more  fully  in  his 
treatise  '*Z)e  Sacramentis  Fidei  Christianse^^  which  was 
written  against  Abelard.  The  spirit  of  his  teaching  can 
be  seen  from  the  two  main  propositions  on  which  this 
last  work  is  based : 

5.  His  Sermons  on  Canticles  have  been  translated  into  German  (with  a  pre- 
face by  Franz  Delitzsch).     Leipsic,  1862. 

6.  In  his  Church  History.     Vol.  3.  pp.  11,  12. 

7.  See  Liebner:  Hugo  von  St.  Victor^  etc.  Leipsic,  1832.  (The  most  com- 
prehensive monograph). 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MllDDLE  AGES.  l6l 

1)  tantutn  deveritate  quisque  potest  videre  quantum 
ipse  est— what  a  man  is  in  himself  is  the  measure  of  his 
insight  of  the  truth,  and  2)  we  can  only  know  God  by 
loving  him  (ubi  caritas  est,  claritas  est).  He  also  laid 
down  the  principle  that  the  ''uncorrupted  truth  of 
things  cannot  be  discovered  by  reasoning ' ' . 

b)  Richard  of  St.  Victor  «  {d.  1173)  is  still  more 
pronounced  in  his  mystical  tendency.  His  works  are 
concerned  chiefly  with  inward  and  contemplative  relig- 
ion. His  great  motto  was:  "  You  have  just  as  much 
power  as  you  have  grace".  The  most  celebrated  of 
his  mystical  works  is  his  ^^  De  gratia  contemplationis^\ 
He  distinguishes  contemplatio  from  cogitatio  and  me- 
ditatio.  Cogitatio  is  common  thought,  meditatio  is  a 
deep  pondering  on  a  special  subject,  contemplatio  is  an 
intuition,  an  immediate  vision  of  the  divine. 

c)  Walter  of  St.  Victor  {d.  1180)  took  the  bold- 
est stand  against  the  prevailing  scholasticism  of  his 
day,  and  wrote  a  work  "  Against  the  four  labyrinths  of 
France"  (Abelard,  Peter  Lombard,  Gilbertus  Porreta- 
nus,  and  Peter  of  Poitiers),  affirming  that  all  of  them, 
'inspired  with  the  spirit  of  Aristotle,  had  treated  with 
scholastic  levity  the  doctrine  of  the  ineffable  Trinity 
and  of  the  Incarnation". 

8)  Peter  Lombard  {d.  1164),  in  his  celebrated  man- 
ual of  dogmatics,  "Four  Books  of  Sentences'',  •'  which 
procured  for  him  the  title  of  ** Master  of  Sentences", 
sought  to  justify  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  by  subtle 
processes  of  reasoning,  and  refinement  of  argument. 
His  main  authority  is  Augustine,  and  he  arranged  his 

8.  Compare  Kaulich :  Die  Lehre  des  Hugo  und  Richard  v.  St.  Victor. 
Prague,  1864. 

9.  In  \\i^  first  book  he  treats  of  God  ;  in  the  secoftd^  of  created  things  ;  in  the 
third,  of  the  incarnation,  redemption,  etc.;  in  the  fourth,  of  eschatology  and  the 
(seven)  sacraments. 


162         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

matter  systematically.  As  the  whole  was  neatly  and 
methodically  put  together,  it  was  welcomed  as  a  clear 
and  useful  handbook,  and  the  work  became  and  for 
centuries  continued  in  the  schools  to  be  the  basis  of 
theological  instruction.  It  was  imitated  by  some,  and 
commented  on  by  others.  In  the  dialectical  treatment 
of  theological  questions  the  "Sentences"  were,  as  a  rule, 
made  the  point  of  departure. 

3.     The  Period  of  the  highest  bloom  of  Scholasticism. 

1)  Alexander  of  Hales  {d.  1245),  "the  monarch 
of  theologians",  "the  Irrefragable  Doctor",  was  the 
first  Scholastic  who  used  the  whole  philosophy  of  Ari- 
stotle in  the  service  of  Christian  theology,  and  in  his 
great  work  ^^ Summa  Universse  Theologiae''^  ^^  he  made 
use  of  philosophy  for  the  demonstration  of  theological 
dogmas.  He  quotes  a  triple  series  of  authorities, 
1)  those  who  say  yes,  2)  those  who  say  no,  and  3)  the 
reconciling  views, — choosing  the  authorities  not  only  in 
the  Bible  and  among  the  Fathers,  but  among  the  later 
philosophers  and  theologians  as  well  as  Greek,  Latin, 
and  Arabian  poets. 

2)  Albertus  Magnus  1  ^  {d.  1280), called  "the Univer- 
sal Doctor"  on  account  of  his  extensive  learning  and 
great  skill  in  instruction,  was  the  first  Scholastic  w^ho 
introduced  the  complete  system  of  Aristotle  to  the  un- 
derstanding of  his  age  through  loose  reproductions  from 
the  Arabic,  and  this  furnished  the  scholastic  philosophy 
with  means  for  its  highest  development.  In  his  ^^Summa 
Theologix^\  while  searching  constantly  for  philosoph- 
ical arguments  in  support  of  the  articles  of  faith,  Al- 
bertus nevertheless  excludes  the  specifically  biblical  and 

10.  I.  Of  God  and  his  attributes  ;  2.  Of  creation  and  sin  ;  3  Of  redemption 
and  atonement ;  4.  The  Sacraments. 

11.  See  Sighart :  Albertus  Magtnts,  sein  l.eben  und  seine  IVissenscha/t.  Re- 
gensburg,  1857. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  163 

Christian  doctrines  of  revelation  from  the  sphere  of 
things  knowable  by  the  light  of  reason. 

3)  Thomas  Aquinas  ^^  {d.  1274),  "the  Angelic  Doc- 
tor", was  the  profoundest  and  keenest  defender  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  has  a 
place  with  Augustine,  Jerome,  and  Ambrose,  among 
the  four  authoritative  teachers  of  the  Church.  In  an 
encyclical  dated  Aug.  4,  1879,  Pope  Leo  XIII  recom- 
mended his  works  to  the  Catholic  seminaries  and  theol- 
ogical faculties  throughout  the  world,  as  a  proper 
foundation  of  their  religious  and  philosophical  teaching. 

Taking  his  stand  as  a  Realist,  he  brought  the  Schol- 
astic philosophy  to  its  highest  stage  of  development,  by 
effecting  the  most  perfect  accommodation  that  was 
possible  of  the  Aristotelian  philosophy  to  ecclesiastical 
orthodoxy,  and  was  careful  to  distinguish  between 
those  truths  which  are  only  known  by  revelation  and 
those  which  could  be  known  and  demonstrated  by 
reason.  His  exegetical  principles  are  good,  and  he 
refers  more  frequently  to  biblical  texts  than  the  other 
scholastics,  but  he  could  not  free  himself  from  ecclesias- 
tical authority. 

The  principal  works  of  Aquinas  on  theology  are  his 
''  Commentary  on  the  Sentences  of  Peter  Lombard'',  a 
work  of  his  earlier  years,  in  which  he  worked  out  his 
own  system,  and  his  great  (unfinished)  work  ''  Summa 
totius  Theologise'\^^  the  work  of  his  later  years,  in 

12.  See  Werner:  Der  heil .  Thomas  von  Aquino,  3  vols.  (Vol.  i,  :  Life  and 
writing;s  ;  Vol.  11.:  Doctrine ;  Vol.  in. :  History  of  Thomism).  Regensburg,  1858- 
59.  Also  Vaughan:  R.  C.  Archbishop  of  Sydney  :  Life  and  Letters  of  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas.     2  vols.  London,  1871-72. 

13.  This  viTork  is  divided  into  three  great  parts  :  I.  Of  God  and  his  works. 
II.  Of  Man,  and  the  seven  virtues,  which  he  classifies  as  i)  theological, — faith 
hope,  and  love -and  2)  ethical, — the  four  cardinal  virtues  of  justice,  prudence 

fortitude,  and  temperance;  III.  Christ's  person  and  work,  and  the  Sacraments, 

their   member  being  seven, — Baptism,  Confirmation,   the   Eucharist,    Penitence) 


164  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

which  all  revealed  doctrines  were  to  be  systematically 
presented.  In  this  last  work  Aquinas  maintains  that 
the  Church's  doctrines  of  the  creation  of  the  world  in 
timt,  of  original  sin,  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Logos,  of 
the  sacraments,  of  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh,  of  the 
judgment,  and  eternal  salvation  and  damnation,  are 
not  to  be  demonstrated  by  natural  reason.  These 
revealed  doctrines  are  regarded  by  Thomas  as  above, 
but  not  contrary  to,  reason. 

He  is  not  willing  to  accept  Anselm's  ontological 
argument  for  the  existence  of  God,  but  himself  gives 
several  forms  of  the  cosmological  and  teleological  ar- 
guments,—nevertheless  adds,  that  while  reason  can 
prove  that  God  exists,  it  cannot  discover  what  his  nat- 
ure is.  He  employs  all  his  speculative  talent  to  explain 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  yet  declares  that  it  is  beyond 
the  sphere  of  reason  to  discover  the  distinction  of  per- 
sons in  the  Godhead,  and  affirms  that  he  who  tries  to 
prove  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  by  the  unaided  reason 
derogates  from  faith  ^  ^ .  Under  providence  he  considers 
the  titKrtTrnes  oi  election  and  i'iipPUUULlUll.  Both  rep- 
robation and  election  are  matters  of  divine  decree ;  and 
the  exact  number  of  the  reprobate,  as  well  as  of  the 
elect,  is  determined  in  advance.  His  treatment  of  the 
seven  sacraments,  had  a  shaping  influence  upon  the 
discussion  of  the  subject  in  after-time.  He  also  teaches 
the  doctrines  of  purgatory  and  the  intercession  of  the 
saints. 

Neander^-^    "Aquinas    is    said    to    have    employed 

Orders,  Marriage,  and  Extreme  Unction.  (The  author  did  not  live  to  finish  his 
great  work,  but  died  before  he  reached  the  discussion  of  "  the  sacrament  of  Or- 
ders ".  A  supplement  containing  his  views,  taken  from  his  Commentary  on  Peter 
Lombard's  Boo/s  of  Sentences  has  been  appended  to  the  later  editions  of  his 
Sunima). 

14.  See  Landerer  in  Schaff-Herzog. 

15.  In  his  Church  History.     Vol.  4.  //.  422,  423.     (Toriey's  Translation\ 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  165 

three  or  four  amanuenses,  to  all  of  whom  he  dictated 
at  once  on  diiferent  subjects.  His  writings  show  that 
his  thoughts  on  divine  things  flowed  from  a  full  heart ; 
he  was  conscious  of  the  necessary  connection  subsisting 
between  thought  and  feeling.  Every  day  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  have  something  read  to  him  from  a  work  of 
edification ;  and  when  he  was  asked  why  he  took  this 
time  from  his  speculative  studies,  he  replied  that  he 
thought  the  act  of  devotion  prepared  him  for  soaring 
upwards  to  speculation.  When  the  feelings  are  enkin- 
dled by  devotion,  the  thoughts  would  more  easily 
ascend  to  the  highest  matters.  He  never  began  to 
study,  to  dispute,  to  give  lectures,  to  write,  or  to  dic- 
tate, without  first  betaking  himself  to  prayer  for  divine 
illumination.  Whenever  doubts  confronted  him  in  his 
investigations,  he  left  off  meditating,  in  order  to  seek 
divine  guidance  in  prayer  ". 

4)  Bona  VENTURA  {d.  1274)  ''the  Seraphic  Doctor", 
developed  still  further  the  mystical  doctrine  begun  by 
Bernard  of  Clair vaux  and  continued  by  the  Victorines, 
and  gave  to  the  teachings  of  Plato  as  transformed  by 
the  Church  Fathers  the  preference  over  those  of  Ari- 
stotle, but  all  human  wisdom,  even  that  of  Plato, 
appears  to  him  as  folly  compared  with  mystical  illum- 
ination. He  distinguishes  three  stages  of  Christian 
perfection:  1)  the  observance  of  the  law;  2)  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  spiritual  counsels  of  the  Gospel;  and  3)  the 
enjoyment  of  eternal  happiness  in  contemplation, — 
which  last  is  reserved  to  ascetics.  Bonaventura  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  a  writer  of  mystical  and  practical 
works  on  Christianity  and  his  ^^  Breviloquium^''  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  expositions  of  Christian  Dogma- 
tics which  the  Middle  Ages  produced. 

5)  Duns  Scotus^«  {d.  1308,   at  the  age  of  thirty- 

i6.    See  Werner:  y^oMnnes  Duns  Scopus.     Vienna,  1881. 


.166         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

four),  the  pride  of  the  Franciscans,  called  "the  Subtle 
Doctor"  on  account  of  his  keenness  and  subtlety,  was 
the  great  opponent  of  Thomism,  or  the  philosophy  of 
Thomas  Aquinas,  and  the  founder  of  the  Scotist  school. 
His   strength  laj^  rather  in  acute,  negative  criticism  of 
the  teachings  of  others,  than  in  any  positive  elaboration 
of  his   own.     His   scepticism,   however,  refers   only  to 
argumentation,  and  arguments  he  may  destroy  until  he 
has  no  other  basis  for  truth  than  the  absolute  will  of 
God  and  the  voluntary  submission  of  man ;  but  this 
basis,  the  truth  of  the  divine  revelation,  and  the  author- 
ity of  the  Church,  he  never  touches  ^^  He  seeks  contin- 
ually to  establish  a  harmony  between  philosophy  and 
the  teaching  of  the  Church. 

The  difference  between  Duns  Scotus  and  Thomas 
Aquinas  is  very  striking.  Thomas  is  speculative,  Scotus, 
critical ;  in  their  ideas  of  God,  Thomas  lays  stress  on 
necessity,  Scotus,  on  freedom.  Thomas  teaches  the  de- 
termination of  the  will,  Scotus  its  indetermination. 
Thomas  affirms  the  doctrine  of  predestination  in  the 
strict,  Augustinian  sense  of  the  term,  while  Scotus 
teaches  a  doctrine  of  Synergism  near  akin  to  Pelagian- 
ism.  According  to  Thomas,  God  commands  what  is 
good,  because  it  is  good,  while  Scotus  maintains,  that 
the  good  is  good,  because  God  commands  it.  Creation, 
incarnation,  the  necessity  of  accepting  the  merit  of 
Christ  as  atonement  for  our  guilt,  are  facts  depending 
solely  on  the  free-will  of  God,  unconditioned  by  any 
rational  necessit3^  Thus  the  pre-eminence  ascribed  by 
Scotus  to  the  will  over  the  reason,  in  God  and  in  man, 
resolves  itself  in  fact  into  the  omnipotence  of  the  ar- 
bitrary will  of  the  Deity  ^  ^ . 

17.  Ste  K.DornQr:  In  Schaff-Herzog. 

18.  See  Ueberweg:  History  of  Philosophy.     Vol.  i.  //.  456,  457. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  167 

6)  Roger  Bacon  ^  ^  (c/.  1294)  by  his  deYotion  to  the 
investigation  of  nature  obtained  the  title  ''the  wonder- 
ful Doctor",  and  became  a  forerunner  of  Bacon  of  Veru- 
1am.  He  preferred  to  study  nature  rather  than  to  bury 
himself  in  scholastic  subtleties.  He  did  not  succeed, 
however,  in  drawing  his  contemporaries  away  from 
metaphysics.  He  urged  a  wider  circulation  and  more 
earnest  study  of  the  Bible,  tracing  nearly  all  the  evil 
of  his  day  to  want  of  personal  acquaintance  with  this 
heavenly  rule  of  life.  He  recommended  a  revision  of  the 
Latin  Vulgate,  and  especially  urged  the  importance  of 
returning  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  in  the  original  Greek 
and  Hebrew.  His  ''Compendium  Studii  Theologise^' 
was  probably  his  latest  composition. 

4.     The  Time  of  the  decline  of  Scholasticism. 

1)  DuRAND  OF  St.  Poursain  (d.  1332)  was  sur- 
named  "the  most  Resolute  Doctor",  on  account  of  the 
resoluteness  with  which  he  maintained  that  there  is  no 
human  authority  above  the  human  reason.  The  con- 
sequence was  an  open  split  between  faith  and  know- 
ledge, between  theology  and  philosophy.  He  denied 
that  theology  was  a  science,  and  made  its  object  or 
subject  man  instead  of  God,  and  declared  the  Scriptures 
to  be  a  practical  help  in  attaining  heaven  by  good 
works.  He  wrote  a  ''  Commentary  ^^  on  the  ''  Sentences 
of  Lombard  ",  which  Gerson  recommended  to  his  pupils 
as  the  best  work  on  the  subject.  He  disputed  the  cur- 
rent scholastic  teaching  respecting  transubstantiation, 
which  he  declared  to  beunscriptural,  and  approximated 
closely  to  the  view  taught  by  the  Reformers  in  the  six- 
teenth century  ^ " .  

19.  See  Schneider  :  Roger  Bacon,  Eine  Monographie.  Augsburg,  1873.  (^  his 
writer  not  only  protests  against  the  extravagant  judgments  of  late  passed  upon 
Bacon,  but  points  out  very  clearly  in  what  aspects  Bacon  appears  as  a  mere 
scholastic. 

20.  See  Wagenmann  in  Schaff-Herzog. 


168         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY* 

2)  William  Occam  {d.  1347), called  by  his  followers 
"thelnYincible  Doctor",  renewed  the  doctrine  of  Nomin- 
alism, breaking  completely  with  Realism,  which  had 
been  the  sole  rnler  in  philosophy  since  the  days  of  An- 
selm  and  the  Yictorines.  He  maintained  that  the  har- 
mony between  reason  and  faith,  between  science  and 
religion,  always  presupposed  by  Realism,  must  be  an 
illusion.  He  denied  that  any  theological  doctrine  could 
be  demonstrated  by  pure  reason.  Even  the  existence 
and  unity  of  God  were,  in  his  judgment,  meiely  articles 
of  faith.  All  knowledge  which  transcends  the  sphere  of 
experience  was  relegated  to  the  sphere  of  faith.  Through 
his  writings  he  exercised  some  influence  in  the  period  of 
the  Reformation,  especially  on  Luther -i,  in  his  earlier 
stage,  because  of  Occam's  opposition  to  the  Pope, 
though  in  doctrine  they  were  often  quite  antagonistic. 

Wagenmann  :  -  ^  Occam  was  a  critic  by  nature.  From 
a  criticism  of  the  reigning  realism  in  philosophy,  he 
went  on  to  a  criticism  of  the  dogmatical  tradition  of 
the  church,  and  thence  to  the  criticism  of  the  ecclesias- 
tico  — political  views  of  his  age;  always  free,  sharp, 
consistent,  and  yet  pious,  orthodox  to  stiffness,  ascetic 
even  to  fanaticism ;  always  clear  and  precise  in  his  fun- 
damental conceptions,  but  lengthy  and  heavy  in  his 
dialectical  exposition;  sometimes  flashing  like  light- 
ning, but  often  obscure  on  account  of  abstruseness 
and  subtlety. 

3)  Peter  D'Ailly  (c/.  1425),  bishop  of  Cambray 
(1396)  and  from  1411  also  a  cardinal,  known  as  ''the 
Hammer  of  Heretics,"  though  a  Nominalist,  defended 
the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  and  sought  in  philosophy 
to  steer  between  skepticism  and  dogmatism,  making 


21.  See  Rettberg:  Occam  und  Luther,     In  Stud,  latd  Kri't.,  1839. 

22.  In  Schaff-Herzog. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES  169 

a  clear  distinction  between  theology  and  philosophy. 
He  gave  precedence  to  the  Bible  rather  than  to  Christ- 
ian tradition,  and  protested  against  the  infallibility  of 
the  pope,  maintaining  that  the  true  representative  of 
the  Church  was  not  the  pope,  but  the  oecumenical  coun- 
cil. He  also  wrote  a  ^'  Commentary^'  on  the  "  Senten- 
ces "  of  Peter  Lombard. 

4)  John  Gerson^s  (J.  1429),  ^'the  most  Christian 
Doctor,"  attempted  to  combine  Mysticism  with  Schol- 
asticism. An  adherent  of  Nominalism  he  sought  to 
reconcile  theology  with  Scholastic  philosophy,  main- 
taining that  truth  could  be  learned  only  through 
revelation.  He  urged  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the 
Fathers.  According  to  Gerson,  neither  Plato  nor  Ari- 
stotle is  the  right  guide  for  him  who  is  seeking  his  sal- 
vation. Better  than  all  knowledge  is  obedience  to  the 
divine  exhortation :  Repent  and  believe  the  Gospel.  He 
also  protested  against  the  infallibility  of  the  pope,  and 
held  that  oecumenical  councils  are  the  true  representa- 
tives of  the  Church,  and  that  they  may  accuse  and 
depose  popes. 

5)  Gabriel  Biel  (d.  1495)  ''the  last  Scholastic," 
whose  chief  merit  lay  in  his  clear  and  faithful  presenta- 
tion of  the  nominalistic  doctrine,  publishing  a  summary 
of  the  doctrines  of  Occam,  exerted  considerable  influ- 
ence on  the  beginnings  of  the  Reformation.  Semi-Pela- 
gian in  his  teaching,  he  is  the  last  noticeable  representa- 
tive of  the  ecclesiastical  science  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

5.     Mysticism  and  the  Pre-Reformatory  Theology.  2  4 

1)   Meister  Eckhart^s  (J   1329)  the  author  and 

23.  See  Schwab:   John  Gerson.   Wuerzburg,  1859. 

24.  See  Ullmann  :  Reformers  before  the  Reformation.  Translated  into  En- 
glish. 2  vols.  Also  Vaughan :  Hours  with  the  Mystics^  2  vols.  Third  ed.  Lon- 
don, 1880. 

25.  See  Martensen:  Meister  Eckhart.  Hamburg,  1842.  Also  Lasson  in 
Ueberweg's   History  of  Philosophy.     Vol.    i.    pp.    467-84. 


170         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

perfecter  of  the  entire  development  of  German  Mysti- 
cism, has  been  called  "the  father  of  modern  Pantheism," 
on  account  of  his  pantheistic  speculations,  maintaining 
that  in  its  true  existence  every  creature  is  not  only  a 
revelation  of  God,  but  a  part  of  him,  and  that  the  true 
object  of  life  is  to  strip  off  all  illusions  and  deceptions, 
and  return  into  the  one  great  being,  ~God.  In  manj- 
points  the  doctrine  of  Thomas  Aquinas  approaches  ex" 
ceedingly  near  to  that  taught  by  Eckhart.  The  Roman 
Thomas  became  the  highest  scientific  authority  of  the 
Romish  Church,  while  the  doctrine  of  Eckhart,  the 
German,  prepared  the  v^ay  through  its  ethics  for  the 
Reformation,  and  through  its  metaphysics  for  the  later 
German  speculation. 

2)  Johannes  Tauler^^  (J.  1361),  "the  Sublime  and 
Illuminated  Doctor,"  was  one  of  the  greatest  preachers 
of  his  time.  He  was  distinguished  by  deep  humility, 
ardent  love,  and  fervent  piety.  On  the  doctrine  of  jus- 
tification by  faith  he  closely  approximated  the  teaching 
of  the  Reformers.  His  style  and  doctrine  entitle  him  to 
a  place  among  the  best  German  prose  authors  before 
Luther. 

3)  HeinrichSuso  {d.  1365)  was  the  representative 
of  the  poetical  mysticism  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  he 
wrote  his  book  "  Von  der  ewigen  Weisheif'—''  On  Eter- 
nal Wisdom  "  in  1338. 

4)  RuYSBROECK  (d.  1381)  "the  ecstatic  Doctor,"  so 
called  because  he  laid  so  much  stress  on  the  ecstatic 
state,  was  the  most  prominent  of  the  Dutch  mystics. 
Without  going  very  deeply  into  ontological  specula, 
tions,  he  taught  that  the  way  to  God  was  through 
contemplation,  but  his  views  are  not  always  free  from 
pantheistic  tendencies. 

26.  English  translation  of  his  Sermons  with  a  short  li^e  by  Catherine  Wink- 
worth,  London,  1857.     Edited  by  Dr.  Hitchcock,  New  York,  1858. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  171 

5)  The  unknown  author  of  Theologia  Germanica/' 
''Eyn  Deutsch  Theologia"  exerted  a  great  influence  on 
the  times  of  the  Reformation.  This  work  was  edited 
by  Luther  in  1518,  ^'^  and  in  the  preface  he  speaks  of  it 
*'  as  a  noble  work,  which  sets  forth  clearly  what  Adam 
and  what  Christ  is,  and  how  Adam  is  to  die  and  Christ 
to  rise  in  us."  Nearly  one  hundred  editions  have  been 
published,  and  the  work  has  been  translated  into  many 
languages. 

Tauler  and  the  ''German  Theology''  perpetuated 
the  speculations  of  Eckhart.  The  work  itself  treats 
principally  of  the  incarnation  of  God  in  Christ,  and 
urges  the  sacrifice  of  one's  self,  in  order  to  fulfil  better 
the  will  of  God. 

6)  John  Wiclif^s  {d.  1384),  ''the  Morning  Star  of 
the  Reformation,"  wrote  his  chief  work  "  Tnalogus^' 
in  1382,  in  which  he  fully  sets  forth  his  theological 
views.  His  formal  principle  was  the  absolute  author- 
ity of  Scripture,  and  his  material  principle  the  absolute 
causality  of  God.  His  great  problem  is  to  represent  the 
incarnation  from  a  moral  point  of  view,  and  he  loves 
to  set  forth  Christ  as  the  centre  of  humanity.  His 
view  of  the  Incarnation  and  Atonement  led  him  to 
renounce  all  trust  in  human  merit,  and  to  protest 
against  the  worship  of  relics  and  images,  and  the  sale 
of  indulgences.  He  denied  the  real  presence  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  taught  abso- 
lute predestination,  believed    in  purgatory,   and  held 

27.  The  best  edition  is  by  Pfeiffer.  Third  edition.  Guetersloh,  1855.  The 
best  English  translation  by  Susanna  Winkworth,  1874. 

28.  See  Vaughan :  John  de  WycUffe,  a  Monograph.  London,  1853.  Also 
Lechler :  Johann  von  Wiclif  und  die  Vorgeschichte  der  Reformation.  2  vols. 
Leipsic,  1873.  Translated  into  English,  with  important  additional  notes  by  Lor- 
imer  under  the  title.  John  Wiclif  And  his  English  Precursors.  2  vols.  London, 
1878;  in  I  vol.  1881.  New  edition  by  Dr.  S.  G.  Green,  i  vol.  1884.  (This  work 
supeisedes  all  others). 


172  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

some  peculiarly  erratic  views  on  the  nature  and  intent 
of  marriage,  and  many  germs  of  error  and  extrava- 
gance may  be  detected  in  his  speculations,  much  as 
these  were  overbalanced  by  the  noble  witness  which  he 
bore  to  long-forgotten  truths,  and  by  the  virtues  of  his 
private  life.  ^ » 

7)  John  Huss  ^^  {d.  1415),  inferior  to  Wiclif  in  spec- 
ulative talent  and  constructive  faculty,  was  more  evan- 
gelical than  the  English  Reformer.  His  principal  work 
is  ''De  Ecclesia;'  "On  the  Church."  He  regarded  the 
Scriptures  as  an  infallible  authority,  and  defined  the 
Church  to  be  the  body  of  the  elect,  basing  his  views 
upon  the  teaching  of  Augustine.  A  great  student  and 
admirer  of  Wiclif,  he  died  a  martyr  because  he  based 
his  reform  of  the  Church  upon  conscience  and  Script- 
ure, and  not  upon  ecclesiastical  authority. 

8)  JoHANN  Wessel  ^^  {d.  1489)  "the  light  of  the 
world,"  "the  Master  of  contradictions,"  was  the  most 
prominent  of  the  precursors  of  the  Reformation  in 
Germany.  Luther,  who  published  a  collection  of  the 
works  of  Wessel,  in  1522,  says  of  him,  in  the  preface, 
that  if  he  had  not  written  anything  before  he  read 
these  words,  people  might  have  thought  that  he  had 
stolen  all  his  ideas  from  him.  ^  ^  On  many  points,  on 
justification,  penance,  purgatory,  etc.,  he  anticipated 
the  Reformation. 

His  definition  of  the  Church  is  of  special  interest. 
He  says:     "I  believe  with  the  Church,  but  I  do  not 

29.  See  Hardwick:  Church  History.  (Middle  Ages).  Pp.  374-390.  Third 
edition.     London,  1872. 

30.  See  Gillett :  Life  and  tunes  0/  yohn  Huss.  Third  edition.  Boston,  1870. 
Also  Lechler  m  Schaff-Herzog. 

31.  See  especially  Ullmann^  already  quoted. 

32.  "  Wenn  ich  den  Wessel  zuvor  gelessen,  so  liessen  meine  Widersacher  sich 
duenken,  Luther  hatte  AUes  vom  Wessel  genommen,  also  stimmmet  unser  beider 
GeJ5t  zusammen." 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  178 

believe  in  her."  The  Church  to  him  is  a  communio 
sanctorum,  the  community  of  saints,  and  not  a  com- 
ttiunio  praedestinatorum  as  Wiclif  and  Huss  have  it. 
Wessel  v^as  alike  distinguished  as  a  theologian  and  as 
a  general  scholar. 

9)  JoHANN  VON  Wesel  {d.  1481)  wrote  against  the 
doctrine  of  indulgences  {Adversus  Indulgentias)  and  on 
"Ecclesiastical  Pov^er."  On  his  trial  (he  escaped  the 
stake,  but  was  locked  up  for  life  in  an  Augustinian  con- 
vent at  Mayence)  the  principal  charges  against  him 
were,  that  he  denied  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
from  the  Son,  rejected  tradition,  and  disputed  the  ab- 
solute authority  of  a  council  legitimately  called.  He 
taught  the  formal  principle  of  Protestantism, —  the 
Scriptures  the  sole  rule  of  faith,— but  he  did  not  fully 
reach  the  material  principle, —  justification  by  faith 
alone. 

6.     The  Humanists. 

The  Humanists,  the  critical  spirit  of  the  age,  and 
the  study  of  the  Bible,  co-operated  in  preparing  the 
way  for  the  Reformation.  The  humanists  were  the 
philologians  and  critics  of  their  age ;  they  restored  the 
purity  of  the  Latin  language,  made  the  study  of  Greek 
an  indispensable  element  of  scholarly  education,  and 
introduced  the  study  of  Hebrew.  In  Germany  these 
studies  were  chiefly  cultivated  by  the  "Brethren  of  the 
Common  Life,"  and  from  this  school  the  Reformation 
received  great  assistance.  Though  they  aided  in  the 
work,  the  Humanists  would  never  have  effected  the 
Reformation. 


174  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 


SECTION  XVII. 

THE    DOGMATICS    OF    THE    CENTURY    OF    THE 
REFORMATION.  ^ 

The  sixteenth  century  was  Ml  of  fresh  specu- 
lation and  practical  life,  with  a  harmony  of  the 
intellectual,  experimental,  and  practical,  almost 
without  a  parallelism  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 

The  two  sorts  of  Dogmatics,  the  Lutheran 
and  the  Keformed,  may  be  characterized  as  the 
theology  of  Salvation,  and  the  theology  of  the 
Absolute  Will. 

I.     The  Dogmatics  of  Melanchthon  2. 

The  impress  of  the  character  of  Luther  upon  the 
Lutheran  Church  is  so  mighty  that  no  one  can  under- 
stand the  doctrines  of  the  church  without  understand- 
ing him.    For  the  whole  earlj^  history  of  our  Church  is 

1.  Krauth:    The  Conservative  Reform.atio7i  and  its  Theology.     Philadelphia, 

1871. 

Seiss :  Ecclesia  Lutherana.     Fourth  edition.     Philadelphia,  1871. 

Thomasius:  Das  Bekenntniss  der  evang.  luth.  Kirche  in  der  Konsequenz 
seines  Prtncips.  Nuernberg,  1848. 

Thomasius:  Dogfuengeschichte.     Vol.  2.  Erlangen,  1876. 

Hase:  Hutterus  Redivivus^  order  Dogmatik  der  evang,  luth.  Kirche.  Elev- 
enth edition,  Leipsic,  1876. 

Schmid :  The  Doctrinal  Theology  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  ex- 
hibited and  verified  from  the  original  sources.  Translated  into  English.  Phila- 
delphia, 1876. 

2.  The  first  complete  edition  of  his  works  is  given  by  Bretschneider  and 
Bindseil  in  the  Corpus  Reformatorum.  Vols.  1-28.  Halle,  1834-50.  Ledder- 
hose's  Life  of  Melanchthon  (Heidelberg,  1847)  has  been  translated  into  English 
by  Dr.  Krotel,  Philadelphia,  1855. 

On  Melanchthon's  Theology  s^^  Plitt:  Melanchthon' s  Loci  in  ihrer  Urgestalt. 
Erlangen,  1864;    Herrlinger:  Die  Theologie  Melanchthons^  etc.  Gotha,  1879. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  CENTtJRY  OF  THE  REFORMATION.  175 

interwoven  with  the  personal  and  official  history  of 
Luther^  {d.  1546). 

But  it  was  Melanchthon  {d.  1560),  who  wrote 
the  first  Protestant  work  of  Systematic  theology, 
under  the  title  "Loci  Communes,^'  *  of  which  three 
editions  appeared  in  1521.  In  this  work  he  sought  to 
give  the  theological  and  religious  results  of  the  Refor- 
mation, and  pursued  the  dialectic  rather  than  the  spec- 
ulative method,  making  accurate  definitions  and  clear 
divisions.  In  this  first  edition  he  follows  closely  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  in  his  delineation  of  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  sin  and  grace.  But  after  1534  he 
departed  farther  and  farther  from  the  views  of  Luther, 
and  in  the  second  great  edition  of  his  Lociy  in  1535,  and 
his  third,  1543,  he  made  many  alterations  and  empha- 
sized his  so-called  Synergism.  He  mentions  three  causes 
as  concurring  in  the  work  of  conversion  —  ''the  Word 
of  God,  the  Spirit,  and  the  human  will  assenting  to, 
and  not  rejecting,  the  Word  of  God."^ 

He  everywhere  insists  upon  his  doctrinal  agreement 
with  Luther,  and  does,  in  fact,  agree  with  him  in  mak- 
ing all  prominent  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith  in 
Christ,  but  the  Melanchthon  of  the  later  period  differed 
very  considerably  in  doctrinal  views  from  Luther. 

3.  The  best  serviceable  edition  of  Luther's  works  is  the  Eriangen  edition  in 
67  German  and  33  Latin  volumes  (1826-73).  The  most  valuable  biogfraphies  are 
by  Koestlin :  Martin  Luther,  sein  Leben  und  sei'fie  Schrt/ten,  Third  Edition, 
2  vols.  Elberfeld,  1883 ;  also  his  smaller  work,  Luther'' s  Leben.  Third  edition. 
Leipsic,  1883.  English  translation,  London,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  1883- 
Bayne:  Life  of  Luther,  2  vols.  1887. 

On  Luther's  Theology  see:  Koestlin:  Luther'' s  Theologie,  2  vols.  Stuttgart, 
1863.     Harnack:  Luther^ s  Theologie,  2  vols.  Eriangen,  1862-1886. 

4.  See  note  on  p.  13.  On  his  relation  to  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  Apol- 
ogy see  notes  on  pp.  92-99.  On  his  vacillations  in  statements  of  doctrine  see  note 
on  /.  loi. 

5.  •*  Concurrunt  tres  causae  bonae  actionis,  verbum  Dei,  Sp.  S.,  et  humana 
voluntas  assentiens  nee  lepugnans  verbo  Dei." 


176  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGT. 

His  vacillations,  real  and  seeming  were  due  to  his 
timidity  and  gentleness  of  character,  his  aversion  to 
controversy,  his  philosophical,  humanistic,  and  classi- 
cal cast  of  thought,  and  his  extreme  delicacy  in  matter 
of  style;  his  excessive  reverence  for  the  testimony  of  the 
Church,  and  her  ancient  writers ,  and  his  anxiety  that 
peace  and  harmony  should  be  restored  to  the  Church. 
The  friends  of  the  Reformation  were  embarrassed  and 
confounded,  its  enemies  delighted  and  encouraged,  by 
perceiving  endless  diversities  of  statement  in  the  edi- 
tions of  books,  rapidly  succeeding  each  other,  books 
which,  in  their  first  form,  Luther  had  endorsed  as  of 
Canonical  purity  and  worthy  of  immortality.  The 
very  Confessions  of  the  Church,  determined  by  her 
authorities,  and  signed  by  her  representatives,  were 
amended,  enlarged  here,  abridged  there,  changed  in 
structure  and  in  statement,  as  the  restless  spirit  of  re- 
fining in  thought  or  style  moved  Melanchthon^ 

The  three  works  of  Melanchthon  in  which  the 
charges  were  most  noted  and  most  mischievous,  are: 
1)  the  Augsburg  Confession '^ ;  2)  the  Apology «;  and 
3)  the  Loci  Communes  ^ 

It  was  as  the  author  of  the  Loci  that  his  influence 
continued  to  be  felt  years  after  his  death,  because  this 
work  served,  for  almost  a  century,  as  the  basis  and 
model  of  the  dogmatic  teaching  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  1 «  

6.  This  paragraph  is  condensed  from  Krauth's  Conservative  Refortnation. 
Pp.  289-290. 

7.  See  note  8,  on  pp,  94,  95. 

8.  See  note  12,  on  p.  loi. 

9.  See  note  i,  on/.  13. 

10.  The  three  important  editions  of  the  Loci  (1521,  1535,  i543)»  witk  valua- 
ble prolegomena,  are  edited  by  Bretschneider  and  Bindseil  in  vol.  21  of  Corpus 
Reformat orum.  In  vol.  22,  they  give  an  account  of  the  various  translations  of  the 
Loci  (three  in  High  German—  i.  by  Spalatin,  nine  editions  from  1522-1526 ;  2.  by 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  CENTURY  OF  THE  REFORMATION.         177 

As  an  exegete,  Melanchthon  does  not  occupy  the 
same  prominent  position  as  Luther.  He  insisted  upon 
the  literal  sense  in  contrast  to  the  four  senses  of  the 
scholastics  (literal,  moral,  mystical,  allegorical). 

Melanchthon  also  exerted  a  wide  influence  in  the  de- 
partment of  Homiletics,  though  he  never  preached  from 
the  pulpit,  not  having  been  ordained,  and  has  been  re- 
garded as  the  author,  in  the  Protestant  Church,  of  the 
methodical  style  of  preaching  v^hich  follows  the  text  or 
the  subject.  His  influence  in  the  departments  of  Philol- 
ogy and  Pedagogy  entitles  him  to  the  name  of  ''the 
Preceptor  of  Germany."  He  laid  great  stress  upon 
classical  studies,  and  advocated  a  close  and  necessary 
connection  of  the  School  and  the  Church,  regarding  the 
School  as  the  nursery  of  the  Church  ^  ^ . 

2.     The  Melanchthonian  School  of  Dogmatics. 

1)  YiCTORiN  Strigel  (d.  1569),  a  pupil  of  Melanch- 

Justus  Jonas,  eight  editions  from  1536-1540 ;  3.  by  Justus  Jonas,  revised  and  im 
proved  by  Melanchthon,  nine  editions  from  1542-1559 — two  in  Low  German,  and 
translations  in  Italian,  French,  Dutch,  etc.),  and  carefully  edit  the  translation  made 
by  Justus  Jonas  and  revised  by  Melanchthon. 

The  cheap  edition  of  the  Loa',  published  by  Schlawitz,  Berlin,  1856,  is  a  re- 
print of  the  Leipsic  edition  of  1559,  the  last  published  during  the  life  of  Melanch- 
thon. 

After  a  brief  preface  Melanchthon  in  24  sections  presents  his  whole  system : 
I.  De  Deo;  2.  De  creatione;  3.  De  causa  peccati  et  de  contingentia;  4.  De  humanis 
viribus  seu  de  libero  arbitrio  ;  5,  De  peccato  ;  6.  De  lege  divina;  7.  De  evangelio  ; 
8.  De  gratia  et  de  justificatione  ;  9.  De  bonis  operibus:  10.  De  discrimine  veteris 
et  novi  Testamenti;  11,  De  discrimine  peccati  mortalis  et  venialis;  12.  Deecclesia; 
13.  De  Sacramentis;  14.  De  praedestinatione;  15.  De  regno  Christi;  16.  De  resur- 
rectione  mortuorum;  17.  De  spiritu  et  litera  ;  18.  De  calamitatibus  et  de  cruce,  et 
de  veris  consolationibus ;  19.  De  invocatione  Dei  seu  de  precatione;  20.  De  magis- 
tratibus  civilibus  et  dignitate  rerum  politicarum;  21.  De  ceremoniis  humanis  in 
ecclesia;  22.  De  mortificatione  carnis;  23.  De  scandalo;  24.  De  liber tate  Christiana. 
Wz't/i  two  Appendixes:  i.  De  conjugo;  2.  Definitiones  multarum  appellationum, 
quarum  in  ecclesia  usus  est. 

II.  Compare  the  excellent  article  of  Landerer  in  Herzog  {First  edition). 
HerrHnger  has  rewritten  this  article  for  the  second  edition. 


178  INTRODtrCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY.     ' 

thon,  was  a  strong  advocate  of  Synergism  ^ .  A  public 
controversy  lasting  fifteen  days  was  held  between  him 
and  Flacius,  in  1560,  at  Weimar.  The  only  point  dis- 
cussed was  the  relation  of  the  human  will  to  divine 
grace  in  the  work  of  conversion.  It  was  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  Melanchthonian  theology  and  strict  Luther- 
anism.  It  was  in  the  heat  of  this  controversy  that 
Flacius  made  the  assertion,  that  original  sin  was  the 
very  substance  of  human  nature,  since  the  fall,  and  not 
something  accidental, —  which  he  would  not  afterwards 
retract,  and  thus  gave  occasion  to  the  Flacian  contro- 
versy. 

2)  Nicolas  Selnecker  (d.  1592)  was  also  one  of 
Melanchthon's  pupils,  and  one  of  the  authors  of  the 
Formula  of  Concord.  In  his  "  Institutiones  Christianas 
Religionis^^  (1563),  a  commentary  on  the  I/Oc/ of  Mel- 
anchthon,  which  is  the  first  system  of  dogmatic  theol- 
ogy in  the  Lutheran  Church  which  contains  the  so- 
called  Prolegomena,  he  still  represented  the  Melanch- 
thonian type  of  theology,  but  this  was  corrected  in 
accordance  with  the  teaching  of  the  Formula  of  Con- 
cord in  his  later  v^orks. 

3)  Martin  Chemnitz  (J.  1586)  was  the  greatest  of 
Melanchthon's  pupils,  ''without  doubt  the  prince  of 
the  theologians  of  the  Augsburg  Confession"  2,  "that 
great  theologian  of  our  Church,  whom  no  one  will  re- 
fuse to  assign  the  chief  place  after  Luther  among  the 
defenders  of  the  Gospel  truth,"  ^  and  as  one  of  the 
authors  of  the  Formula  of  Concord,  left  the  impress  of 
his  theological  learning  upon  it.    His  ^^  Loci  Theolo- 

1.  Tt'es  sutit  causae  efficieiites  co7ive7-siotiis:  Detis^  verbiim,  et  voluntas  homi- 
nis.  His  Loci //ieo/ogzcz\  edited  by  Pezel  (4  vols.  1582-85),  is  the  best  Dogmatics 
of  the  Melanchthonian  type  of  theology. 

2.  Quenstedt. 

3.  Buddeus. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  CENTURY  OF  THE  REFORMATION.      179 

gicP^  ^  is  a  commentary  upon  the  Loci  Communes  of 
Melanchthon,  which  he  corrects  wherever  Melanchthon 
departs  from  the  doctrine  of  our  Church.  In  this  work 
Chemnitz  displays  his  accuracy  and  clearness  in  the 
definition  of  doctrine,  his  prudent  choice  of  matter  and 
his  knowledge  of  Scripture.  His  ^^  Bxamen  Concilii  Tri- 
dentini'^  ■'  is  the  ablest  defence  of  Protestantism  ever 
published. 

Dr.  Krauth:  f'  ''The  learning  of  Chemnitz  was 
something  colossal,  but  it  has  no  tinge  of  pedantry. 
His  judgment  was  of  the  highest  order.  His  modesty 
and  simplicity,  his  clearness  and  thought,  and  his  lumi- 
nous style,  his  firmness  in  principle,  and  his  gentleness 
in  tone,  the  richness  of  his  learning  and  the  vigor  of  his 
thinking,  have  revealed  themselves  in  such  measure  in 
his  "Loci,"  his  books  *'0n  the  Two  Natures  of  Our 
Lord,"  and  ''  On  the  True  Presence,"  in  his  ''  Examen  of 
the  Council  of  Trent,"  his  ''Defence  of  the  Formula  of 
Concord,"  and  his  "Harmony  of  the  Gospels,"  as  to 
render  each  a  classic  in  its  kind,  and  to  mark  their 
author  as  the  greatest  theologian  of  his  time — one  of 
the  greatest  theologians  of  all  time." 

4)  Jacob  Heerbrand  (c7.  1600),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Tuebingen  after  1557,  through  his  principal  work 
"  Compendium  Theologicum,^^  which  was  generally 
used  as  a  text-book  in  Germany,  Denmark,  and  Swe- 
den, and  which  had  almost  symbolical  authority  in 
Wuertemberg,  exerted  a  wide  influence.    The  book  is  in 

4.  Published  after  his  death  by  Polycarp  Leyser  in  1591.  The  edition  in  my 
library,  to  which  reference  will  be  made,  is  that  of  Wittenberg,  1610,  which  also 
contains  his  two  important  treatises  De  vera  et  substantiali  PrcBsentia  and  De 
duabiis  Naturts. 

5.  Published  in  four  parts,  1565-73.  Reprinted  by  Preuss,  Berlin,  1861. 
The  edition  used  is  that  of  Geneva,  1667.  A  condensed  German  translation  was 
published  in  St.  Louis,  1875,  (also  Dresden). 

6.  In  Cotiservative  Reformation,  p.  310. 


180  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

the  form  of  questions  and  answers,  and  presents  very 
clearly  and  simpl3^  the  Lutheran  doctrines  in  a  biblical 
manner.  On  account  of  the  negotiations  going  on,  at 
the  time,  between  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  and 
the  University  of  Tuebingen,  it  was  translated  into 
Greek.  This  writer,  and  the  following  writers  of  this 
century,  no  longer  followed  Melanchthon,  but  adopted 
strict  Lutheran  views,  and  closely  adhered  to  the  Form- 
ula of  Concord. 

5)  Matthias  Hafenreffer  {d.  1619),  professor  of 
theology  at  Tuebingen  after  1598,  in  his  ^^  Loci  Theolo- 
gici,'-  follows  the  synthetic  method,  starting  from  the 
highest  principle,  God,  and  proceeding  to  Man,  to 
Christ,  to  Redemption,  until  the  system  ends  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  Last  Things.  This  work  was  the  text- 
book generally  used  at  the  Universities  (Tuebingen, 
Upsala,  etc.),  during  the  seventeenth  century.  '*It  ob- 
tained at  once  the  voidest  currency  in  upper  and  lower 
Germany,  because  it  gave  in  the  most  precise  and  intel- 
ligible manner  the  doctrinal  points  of  the  Formula  of 
Concord,  which  was  what  they  wanted  to  hear  exclu- 
sively in  the  Lutheran  lecture  rooms."  ^ 

3,     The  Reformed  Dogmatics. 

1)  ZwiNGLi^  {d.  1531)  gives  us  the  most  complete, 
though  not  a  systematic,  presentation  of  his  views  in  his 
^' CommentRrius  de  vera  et  falsa  religione,^^  published 
in  1525.  Unlike  Luther,  he  was  not  led  to  be  a  reformer 
by  any  inward  experience,  but  by  classical  culture,  and 
a  scientific  study  of  the  Bible.  The  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith,  therefore,  was  by  no  means  so  central 

7.     Heppe. 

I.  Zeller:  Das  theologische  System  Zwtngle's,  Tuebingen,  1853.  Sigwart: 
Zwingli,  dei-  Character  semer  Theologie^  etc.  Stuttgart,  1855,  Hottinger:  Life 
0/ Zwmgtz  (Tra.nsla.ted  hy  T.  C.  Porter).  Harrisburg,  1857.  Usteri:  Zwing/t, 
7,nnQ\:\,  1883.    Grob;  The  Li^e  0/  Zm'ngli^  New  York,  1883. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  CENTURY  OF  THE  REFORMATION.    181 

and  vital  with  him  as  with  Luther.  He  began  his 
work,  not  so  much  with  the  purification  of  doctrine, 
as  writh  external  improvements  in  worship,  order,  and 
customs.  He  laid  stress  upon  the  absoluteness  of  God 
and  the  exclusiveness  of  his  will,  so  that  the  material 
principle  of  Zwingli  is  the  glory  of  God.  Acknowledg- 
ing as  his  formal  principle  the  exclusive  authority  of 
Scripture  as  a  Rule  of  Faith,  he  often  did  violence  to 
the  Word  of  God,  for  he  approached  it  externally,  and 
explained  the  scriptures  according  to  his  subjective 
judgment.  He  regarded  the  sacraments  as  only  com- 
memorative signs,  and  he  had  such  superficial  views  of 
original  sin  and  guilt,  that  he  regarded  even  heathen, 
like  Socrates  and  Cato,  without  further  qualifications, 
as  members  of  the  kingdom  of  God, —  of  which  view 
Luther  says :  ''If  this  is  true,  then  the  whole  Gospel  is 
false."  ^  His  speculations  led  him  to  adopt  a  fatalistic 
predestination,  which  deprives  the  wll  of  moral  free- 
dom, as  over  against  divine  providen/e.  Schaflf :  ^ 
''Zwingli  lacked  the  genius  and  depth  of  Luther  and 
Calvin,  the  learning  of  Melanchthon  and  Oecolampa- 
dius,  but  he  was  their  equal  in  honesty  of  purpose,  in- 
tegrity of  character,  heroic  courage,  and  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  the  Reformation,  and  surpassed  them  in 
liberality.  His  prominent  intellectual  trait  was  clear, 
strong  common  sense.  He  had  no  organ  for  the  mys- 
tic element  in  religion In  his  theological  views 

he  v^as  more  radical  than  Luther He  differed 

chiefly  from  his  vie^w  of  the  real  presence  of  Christ's 
body  and  blood  in  the  sacrament,  and  held  this  ordi- 
nance to  be  merely  a  commemoration  of  the  atoning 
death  of  Christ In  some  articles  he  was  ahead 

2.  Hoc  SI  verum  est,  totum  evangelium  falsum  e^t. 

3.  In  Jo/mson's  Cyclopcedtq. 


182  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

of  his  age,  and  held  opinions  which  were  then  deemed 
dangerous  and  heretical.     He    had  a  milder  view  of 

original  sin  and  guilt  than  the  other  Reformers 

Zwingli  represents  only  the  first  stage  in  the  history  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  His  work  was  completed  after 
his  death  by  his  successor,  BuUinger,  at  Zurich,  and 
still  more  by  Calvin  at  Geneva." 

2)  John  Calvin*  {d.  1564),  the  founder  of  Calvin- 
ism, wrote  his  famous  work,  ^^  Institutes  of  the  Christ- 
ian Religion,^^\n  1536,  when  he  was  twenty-seven  years 
old.  The  final  form  was  given  to  the  Institutes  in  the 
Latin  edition  of  Geneva,  1559,  when  it  was  made  into 
a  treatise  of  four  books,  divided  into  one  hundred  and 
four  chapters.  In  the  first  three  books  he  follows  the 
order  of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  in  the  fourth  book 
treats  of  the  Church.  ^  As  a  system,  this  work  of  Cal- 
vin is  more  comprehensive,  and  more  complete  in  its 
formal  scientific  construction,  than  the  Loci  of  Mel- 
anchthon.  Although  Calvin  far  surpassed  Zwingli  in 
religious  depth  and  fervor,  and  closely  approximated 
the  views  of  Luther,  still,  in  the  fundamental  principle 
of  his  system,  he  stood  on  the  same  basis  with  Zwingli. 
He  was  decidedly  hostile  to  ecclesiastical  tradition,  and 
on  the  doctrine  of  the  person  of  Christ  differed  greatly 
from  Luther,  and  therefore  could  not  apprehend  the 
doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  fulness  of  Luther's 

4.  There  is  an  English  translation  of  Calvin's  works  by  the  "  Calvin  Trans- 
lation Society."  in  52  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1842-53.  On  his  Li/e  see  Dyer:  Life  of 
Calvin^  London,  1849;  Bungener:  Calvifi,  Paris,  1862  (English  translation,  Edin- 
burgh, 1863);  but  especially  Stahelin:  Johannes  Calvift,  2  vols.  Elberfeld,  1863.  See 
also  Schaff;  Creeds  0/  Christendom.     Vol.  i,  pp.  421-465. 

5.  The  first  edition  (Latin,  Basel,  1536)  contained  only  six  chapters;  i)  Of 
law,  with  an  exposition  of  the  Ten  Commandments;  2)  Of  faith,  with  an  exposi- 
tion of  the  Apostles'  Creed;  3)  Of  prayer,  with  an  exposition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer; 
4)  Of  the  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper;  5)  Of  the  other  so-called 
sacraments;  6)  Of  Christian  liberty,  Church  government  and  discipline. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  CENTURY  OF  THE  REFORMATION.    183 

faith.  The  inexorable  consistency  with  which  he  car- 
ried out  his  views  of  predestination,  made  them  exceed 
Augustine's  doctrine  in  inflexible  rigidity  and  severity.  ^ 
The  five  points  of  Calvinism  are:  1)  unconditional 
election ;  2)  limited  atonement,  designed  for  the  elect 
alone;  3)  the  total  moral  inability  of  the  will ;  4)  irre- 
sistible grace;  and  5)  the  perseverance  of  the  saints. 

3)  Peter  Martyr  Yermilius  {d.  1562), in  his  ''Loci 
Communes.'^  which  is  one  of  the  principal  sources  for 
the  study  of  the  Reformed  theology  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  was  Zwinglian  in  his  doctrine. 

4)  BuLLiNGER  (d.  1575),  the  author  of  the  ''Second 
Helvetic  Confession,"  1566,  one  of  the  most  elaborate 
of  the  Reformed  Creeds,  and  next  to  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism,  the  most  authoritative,  contributed  much 
to  establish  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland.  ^  His 
''  Compendium  religionis  christian^''  appeared  in  1556, 
in  which,  however,  he  did  not  lay  so  much  stress  on  ab- 
solute predestination. 

5)  Wolfgang  Musculus  {d.  1563)  was  originally  in 
favor  of  a  union  between  the  Lutheran  and  the  Re- 
formed Churches,  but  afterwards  saw  fit  to  change  his 
views,  and  in  his  ''Loci  CommuneSy^^  ^  took  a  strong 
Calvinistic  position. 

6)  Aretius  {d.  1574),  professor  of  theology  at  Berne 
(1563-74),  exercised  considerable  influence  through  his 
"  Theologise  Problemata,''  and  his  "  Examen  Theologi- 
cum  "  ran  through  six  editions  in  fourteen  years. 

7)  Zacharias  Ursinus  {d.  1583),  the  chief  author  of 

6.  For  an  excellent  article  on  Calvmistn  by  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  see  Johnson's 
Cyclopoedia,  He  speaks  of  the  "Institutes,"  as  "the  first  and  grandest  work  of 
systematic  divinity  the  world  has  seen,"  that  in  it  Calvin  "has  recast  Augustinian- 
ism  in  its  final  Protestant  form,  and  handed  it  over  to  the  modern  world  stamped 
with  its  great  author's  name." 

7.  SeeSchaff:  Creeds  of  Christejidom.     Vol.  i.//.  390-420. 

8.  Basel,  1560,  and  afterwards  often  reprinted. 


184         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

the  ''Heidelberg  Catechism"  (1563),  was  a  man  of 
profound  classical,  philosophical,  and  theological  learn- 
ing. He  was  no  orator,  and  no  man  of  action,  but  a 
retired,  modest,  and  industrious  student.  His  principal 
works,  beside  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  are  a ''Com- 
mentary" on  the  Catechism,  and  an  attack  on  the 
Formula  of  Concord/-^ 

8)  Olevianus  {d.  1587),  joint  author  of  the  "Heidel- 
berg Catechism"  with  Ursinus,  was  inferior  to  Ursinus 
in  learning,  but  his  superior  in  the  pulpit  and  in  Church 
government.  In  the  doctrines  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
and  predestination,  he  held  the  views  of  Calvin.  He 
has  been  regarded  as  the  forerunner  of  the  "federal  the- 
ology" of  Cocceius  {d.  1669). 

9)  Hyperius  {d.  1564),  professor  of  theology  at 
Marburg  (1542-64),  exercised  a  considerable  influence 
on  the  formation  of  evangelical  theology.  His  "  Topi- 
ca  theologica''  (1561)  was  extensively  used,  even  by 
Roman  Catholic  preachers. 

10)  Zanchi  {d.  1590)  acquired  a  great  reputation 
as  one  of  the  most  learned  theologians  of  his  time.  He 
strongly  advocated  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  predes- 
tination, and  attacked  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the 
Person  of  Christ. 


SECTION  XVIII. 

THE  ORTHODOX    DOGMATICS    OF   THE    SEVENTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

The  orthodox  dogmatics  of  the  seventeenth 
century  had  the  character  in  some  measure  of  a 
revived  and  purified  scholasticism,  running  out 


9.     St&Schdi^'.  Creeds  0/ Christendom.     Vol.  i. //.  529-534. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  186 

in  some  extreme  cases  into  a  sort  of  Protestant 
Mediaevalism.  But  it  was  more  profound  than 
the  theology  of  the  Early  Fathers,  more  true 
and  consistent  than  that  of  the  Scholastics,  and 
more  scientifically  developed  and  honestly  out- 
spoken than  the  dogmatics  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church. 

I.     The  Characteristic  of  the  Dogmatics  of  this  period  i. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  the 
Lutheran  Church  had  undergone  the  ordeal  of  a  war  of 

I.  In  order  to  form  a  clear  conception  of  the  history  of  the  dogmatic  develop- 
ment of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  17th  Century,  we  must  take  into  considera- 
tion, i)  The  three  general  tendencies  which  were  at  work  in  Lutheran  Germany, 
and  2)  the  internal  controversies  which  agitated  the  Lutheran  Church  during  this 
period. 

1)  Of  the  general  tendencies  at  work  the  first  was  a  strong  Roman  Catholic 
reaction,  supported  by  political  power,  kindled  and  fermented  by  the  Jesuits,  a 
reaction  which  culminated  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War  (1618-1648),  of  which  Gusta- 
vus  Adolphus,  of  Sweden,  is  the  hero. 

The  second  general  tendency  was  a  strongly-marked  Calvinizing  movement, 
also  started  and  abetted  by  political  power,  by  which  Lutheran  Germany  lost  sev- 
eral states. 

The  third  general  tendency  were  the  Unionistic  efforts,  which  instead  of  re- 
storing religious  unity,  only  made  the  breach  wider.  These  Unionistic  efforts  were 
of  a  two-fold  character :  a)  The  attempt  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between 
the  Roman  Catholics  and  the  Protestants  (The  Conference  of  Thorn,  1645,  known 
as  the  Colloquium  Caritativum,  the  Conference  of  Courteous  Compliments,  and 
the  correspondence  between  Bossuet  and  Leibnitz  in  1691);  b)  the  attempt  to 
bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  the  Lutherans  and  the  Reformed  (The  Collo- 
quy of  Leipsic,  1631,  and  of  Cassel,  1661). 

2)  A  reaction  against  the  so-called  Scholasticism  and  one-sidedness  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  could  not  fail  to  take  place  within  the  Church  herself.  The  op- 
position which  sprang  up  was  of  a  two-fold  character :  a)  in  the  case  of  Calixtus 
and  the  Syncretistic  controversies  it  was  confined  exclusively  to  the  sphere  of  the- 
ology ;  b)  in  Spener  and  the  Pietistic  controversy,  it  more  largely  concerned  the 
Christian  life.  And  though  the  opposition  which  arose  was  marked  by  a  one- 
sidedness  of  another  sort,  still  these  controversies  had  a  beneficial  influence  upon 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

a)  The  Syncretistic  Controversy.  By  Syncretism,  we  mean  a  tendency  to 
form  a  union  between  two  religious  bodies  on  the  basis  of  such  doctrines  01  tenets 
as  are  common  to  both.    There   are  two  tendencies  discernible  throughout  the 


186  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

polemics.  The  precision,  clearness  and  carefulness  of 
the  Formula  of  Concord  had  gradually  overcome  all 
opposition  to  it,  and  had  in  fact  really  restored  har- 
mony within  the  Church. 

Now  came  a  period  of  comparatively  internal  repose, 
the  mediaeval  period  of  Lutheran  Theology,  when  the 
theological  system  of  our  Church  was  fully  developed, 
reared  like  a  glorious  Gothic  edifice,  massive  in  archi-^ 
tecture,  rich  in  construction,  and  finished  in  beauty, 
even  to  the  last  of  its  marvelous  adornings.  But  this 
tendency  to  an  accurate  delineation  and  precise  defini- 
tion of  doctrine  became  more  and  more  one-sided. 
Like  Medieval  Scholasticism,  in  its  concern  for  logic  it 
almost  lost  vitality.  Nevertheless,  this  scholastic  or- 
thodoxy, with  all  its  one-sidedness,  imparted  to  Lu- 
theran theology  a  fulness  and  wealth,  an  acuteness 
and  consistency  of  structure,  the  grandeur  of  which 
the  greatest  theologians  of  all  denominations  are  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge.  We  can  conceive  of  men  of  in- 
tellect studying  this  system  without  receiving  it  in 
every  part ;  but  we  conceive  it  impossible  for  a  man  of 
high  intellect  to  master  the  system  of  our  Church  with- 
out  admiring  it. 

whole  Reformation  period,  the  one  condemning  all  toleration  of  different  opinions 
as  an  unsoundness  of  doctrine,  the  other  striving  after  reconciliation  and  harmony 
between  the  different  religious  bodies.  In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  centuiy 
these  two  tendencies  came  into  violent  conflict  with  each  other,  The  controversy 
originated  in  the  views  of  the  great  Helmstadt  theologian,  George  Calixtus.  On 
his  side  were  the  theologians  of  Helmstadt  and  Konigsberg,  and  opposed  to  them 
were  the  more  rigid  Lutheran  theologians  of  Leipsic,  Dresden,  and  Wittenberg, 
led  by  John  Huelsemann  of  Leipsic,  and  above  all  by  Abraham  Calovius  of  Wit- 
tenberg, who  alone  wrote  26  controversial  books,  many  of  them  more  than  a 
thousand  pages  quarto. 

b)  The  Pietistic  Controvesy.  Pietism  denotes  a  movement  in  the  Lutheran 
Church  which  arose  as  a  reaction  of  the  living,  practical  faith  against  an  ortho- 
doxy which  too  often  contented  itself  with  a  theoretical  correctness  of  its  creed.  In 
the  17th  century  we  have  only  to  do  with  Pietism  in  its  early  stage,  and  the  whole 
movement  centres  around  the  person  of  Philip  Jacob  Spener  (d.  1705). 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  187 

And  though  this  period  of  our  Church  is  often  reviled 
as  that  of  ''  dead  orthodoxy,"  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
it  possessed  more  true  piety  and  spiritual  life  than  the 
eighteenth  century,  that  period  which  most  deridedit, 
—  and  that  it  is  far  superior  to  this  present  century, 
with  all  its  boasted  progress,  and  scientific  attain- 
ments, in  stedfastness  of  faith,  in  earnest  devotion,  in 
consecration  to  God,  and  in  strict  adherence  to  the  doc- 
trines of  God's  Word  and  to  the  teachings  of  our  Con- 
fessions. A  century  which  has  produced  a  Johann 
Arndt  {d.  1621),  a  Valerius  Herberger  {d.  1627)  a  John 
Gerhard  {d.  1637),  a  Johann  Andreae  {d.  1654),  a  Hein- 
rich  Mueller  (d.  1675),  a  Paul  Gerhardt  (d.  1676),  a 
Christian  Scriver  {d.  1701),  and  a  Spener  {d.  1705), 
can  not  be  altogether  an  age  of  spiritual  coldness,  and 
a  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church  as  black  as  it  has 
generally  been  painted. 

Dr.  Walther:  -  The  theological  works  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  ''exhibit,  not  only  according  to  the 
judgment  of  all  Lutherans  who  are  faithful  to  the  Con- 
fession, the  very  best  results  that  have  ever  been  at- 
tained in  the  Christian  Church  of  all  ages,  so  far  as  cor- 
rect presentation,  thorough  development  and  organic 
arrangement  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  con- 
cerned, and  are  therefore  of  imperishable  value,  but 
even  according  to  the  testimony  of  men  who  do  not 
unreservedly  subscribe  to  the  Confessions  of  our  Church, 
yea  even  of  its  enemies,  these  works  belong  to  the  most 
admirable  productions  of  the  earnest  spirit  of  Christian 
research,  which  even  now  every  one  must  make  himself 
perfectly  familiar  with,  if  he  wishes  to  learn  the  doc- 
trines of  our  Church  in  their  peculiar  features,  their 
wealth,  and  their  self-consistency;    or  even  if,  in  gen- 

2.     In  a  criticism  of  Schmid's  Dogmatik  der  Evang.  Luth.  Kirche. 


188         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

eral,  he  wishes  to  be  capable  of  forming  a  well-tested 
judgment  in  the  department  of  Dogmatics." 

2.     The  divers  tendencies  of  the  Orthodox  Dogmatics  i . 

Laxity  in  Calixtus  {d.  1656),  rigidity  in  Calovius 
(d.  1686),  moderation  in  Musseus  {d.  1681),  represent 
the  great  universities  which  these  great  men  adorn, 
Helmstadt,,  Wittenberg,  and  Jena. 

George  Calixtus  for  forty-two  years  (1614-1656) 
professor  of  theology  at  Helmstadt,  was,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  most  prominent  and  influential  rep- 
resentative of  the  school  of  Melanchthon.  A  man  of 
superior  scientific  and  social  accomplishments,  a  thor- 
ough student  of  Church  History,  rich  in  the  culture 
which  can  only  be  obtained  by  extensive  travels,  Calix- 
tus, being  of  an  irenical  turn  of  mind,  formed  a  more 
liberal  judgment  of  other  denominations  than  was 
commonly  held.  He  did  not,  indeed,  desire  a  formal 
union  of  the  various  Churches,  but  he  held  that  they 
should  recognize,  tolerate,  and  love  each  other.  He 
proposed  a  secondary  principle  of  Christian  theology 
(next  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  its  primary  principle) , 
the  consensus  of  the  first  five  centuries  as  a  common 
basis  for  all  Churches,  and  sought  to  show  that  all 
subsequent  diversities  were  either  non-essential  or  less 
essential."  But  the  more  rigid  Lutheran  theologians, 
who  v^ere  mistrustful  of  all  peaceful  measures,  ever 
since  the  trouble  with  crypto-Calvinism  at  the  end  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  accused  Calixtus  of  crypto-Cal- 
vinism, of  crypto-Catholicism,  in  fact  Calixtus  was  at- 
tacked on  all  sides,  and  by  no  one  more  furiously  than 
by  that  strict  defender  of  orthodoxy,  Abraham  Calo- 
vius of  Wittenberg. 

1.  SeeH.  Schmid:  "  Geschichte  der  synkret,  Streitigkeiten, "  etc.  Erlangen, 
1846;  Gass:  •' Calixtus  und  der  Synkretismus."    Breslau,  1846. 

2.  See  Kurtz  in  his  Church  History.    Vol.  2.  §  38.  2. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  189 

Calovius  was  the  prodigy  of  his  age,  the  most  volu- 
minous of  our  theologians,  writing  on  all  departments 
of  theological  science,  distinguished  for  his  wonderful 
industry,  unyielding  firmness  and  severity,  vast  and 
varied  learning,  and  his  most  remarkable  zeal  in  con- 
troversy. Although  ranking  high  as  a  dogmatician, 
still  the  conspicuous  position  which  he  occupied  in  the 
theological  world  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  owing 
principally  to  his  violent  polemics  against  Calixtus, 
and  against  that  reconciliating  tendency  which  was 
represented  by  the  University  of  Helmstadt.  In  1655 
the  Theological  Faculties  of  Leipsic  and  Wittenberg,  of 
which  Calovius  was  the  ruling  spirit,  prepared  a  state- 
ment of  the  divergences  between  the  Book  of  Concord 
and  the  principles  enforced  by  the  school  of  Calixtus. 
They  hoped  to  make  this  formal  document  ^  authorita- 
tive, and  of  a  symbolical  character,  but  it  was  never 
legally  ratified. 

Mus.^us,  of  Jena,  who  was  strongly  opposed  to  the 
exact  and  fixed  definitions  which  were  then  used  in 
Lutheran  orthodox  dogmatics,  in  vain,  sought  to  me- 
diate between  these  two  parties. 

3.     The  Dogmaticians  of  this  period. 

1)  Aegidius  Hunnius  {d.  1603),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Marburg  1576-92,  and  at  Wittenburg  1591- 
1603,  was  one  of  Heerbrand's  pupils,  and  a  staunch 
champion  of  Lutheran  orthodoxy.  While  at  Marburg, 
he  opposed  the  reigning  Calvinistic  tendency,  especially 
in  Christology  {De  persona  Christi,  1585),  and  in  Wit- 

3.  The  title  was :  Consensus  Repetitus  fidei  vere  Lutheranae,  and  it  was 
arranged  under  98  heads  or  articles.  Each  of  the  heads  was  subdivided  into  three 
parts.  The  first  division  declared  the  true  Lutheran  doctrine:  Profit emur  et 
docent.  The  second  stated  the  opinion  condemned:  Rejicimus.  The  third,  under 
the  form  of  Ita  docent,  contained  extracts  from  the  writings  of  Calixtus,  or,  in  a 
few  cases,  o£  his  followers. 


190  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

tenberg  he  contributed  greatly  in  suppressing  Melanch- 
thonian  views.  In  1603  he  wrote  De  procidentia  Dei 
et  eeterna  prsedestinatio  against  Huberts  false  view, 
that  election  is  universal  and  entirely  unlimited.  John 
Gerhard  calls  him  "the  best  of  the  recent  theologians." 
2)  Leonard  Hutter  {d.  1616),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Wittenberg  from  1596  until  his  death,  was  the 
most  prominent  theologian  of  his  age.  His  resemblance 
to  Luther  in  vigor  of  mind,  energy  of  action,  unwearied 
industry,  firmness  in  faith,  and  boldness  in  proclaiming 
truth  and  sharply  rebuking  error,  gave  him  the  title  of 
^^  Redonatus  Lutherus.''  He  was  a  typical  representa- 
tive of  Lutheran  orthodoxy  in  its  older  form,  before  its 
scholastic  development,  while  it  still  confined  itself  to 
reproduction  and  polemics.  His  best  known  work  is 
his  ''Compendium  Locorum  Theologicorum,'' '^  pub- 
lished in  1610,  which,  for  nearly  a  century,  was  almost 
universally  used  in  the  theological  schools  of  Germany, 
superseding  the  Loci  Communes  of  Melanchthon.  It  is 
brief,  concise,  and  comprehensive,  arranged  in  the  form 
of  questions  and  answers,  and  for  its  definitions  mainly 

I,  Many  editions  of  this  excellent  work  have  been  published,  and  it  has  been 
translated  into  German  three  times  (in  1611,  by  Hutter  himself  in  1613,  by  Francke 
in  1837),  into  Swedish  (Stockholm,  1618),  and  into  English  (by  Doctors  Jacobs  and 
Spieker,  Philadelphia,  1868). 

It  presents  the  whole  subject-matter  of  Dogmatics,  arranged  in  the  Synthetic 
manner,  under  34  /act  or  articles:  i)  De  Scriptura  Sacra,  2)  De  Deo  uno  et  trine, 
3)De  duabus  naturis  in  una  persona  Christi,  4)  De  creatione,  5)  De  angelis  bonis 
et  malis,  6)  De  imagine  Dei  in  homine,  7)  De  aeterna  Dei  providentia,  8)  De  pec- 
cato  in  genere  et  in  specie,  g)  De  libero  arbitrio,  10)  De  lege  Dei,  11)  De  evangelio, 
12)  De  justificatione,  13)  De  aeterna  praedestinatione,  14)  De  bonis  operibus,  15) 
De  poenitentia  et  confessione,  16)  De  ministerio  et  ordine  ecclesiastico,  17)  De 
ecclesia,  18)  De  libertate  Christiana,  19)  De  sacramentis  in  genere,  20)  De  bap- 
tismo,  21)  De  coena  Domini,  22)  De  sacrificiis  et  de  missa  pontifica,  23)  De  scan- 
dalo,  24)  De  cruce  et  consolationibus,  25)  De  invocatione,  26)  De  votis  monasticis, 
27)  De  magistratu  et  rebus  civilibus,  28)  De  matrimonio,  29)  De  morte  corporis 
deque  immortalitate  animae.  30)  De  consummatione  sive  fine  mundi,  31)  De  resur- 
rectione  mortuorum,  32)  De  extremo  judicio,  33)  De  inferno,  34)  De  vita  aeterna. 


THE  BOGMAtlCS  Of  TfiE  SEVENTEENtS  CENTURY,  191 

uses  the  words  of  the  Symbolical  Books,  and  of  the 
older  theologians,  Chemnitz  and  Aegidins  Hunnius.  At 
least  eight  of  our  theologians  have  made  this  compend 
a  basis  for  other  works.-  Huelsemann  of  Leipsic  {d. 
1661),  esteemed  the  study  of  this  Compend  as  of  no 
less  importance  than  that  of  the  Symbolical  Books 
themselves.  ^  Hutter's  ^^ Loci  Communes  Theologici,^' 
published  in  1619,  three  years  after  his  death,  by  the 
theological  faculty  of  Wittenberg,  is  simply  a  further 
elaboration  of  the  Compendium.  The  Lutheran  Church 
is  also  indebted  to  Hutter  for  the  direction  which  his 
instructions  gave  to  the  mind  of  John  Gerhard. 

3)  John  Gerhard  {d.  1637),  the  greatest  of  all  Lu- 
theran theologians,  ^'combined  rare  learning,  great 
acuteness,  wonderful  industry,  sound  judgment,  and 
practical  ability  with  ardent  piety."*  Bossuet  is  said 
to  be  the  author  of  the  often-quoted  remark  that  Ger- 
hard is  the  third  (Luther,  Chemnitz,  Gerhard)  in  that 
series  of  Lutheran  theologians  in  which  there  is  no 
fourth.  It  is  by  his  great  work  ''Loci  Theologici,''  ^ 
that  he  gained  his  great  fame. 

2.  Cundisius  (1648),  Glassius  (1656),  Christian  Chemnitz  (1670),  Bechmann 
1690),  Schneider,  Leuschner,  Ebart,  Deutschmann,  etc, 

3.  See  Dr.  Jacobs'  Preface  to  English  Translation  of  Compend. 

4.  Luthardt. 

5.  See  note  4  on  /.  14. 

So  important  is  this  work  of  Gerhard,  that  we  will  attempt  to  indicate  in  a 
brief  analysis,  the  comprehensiveness  with  which  each  doctrine  is  discussed.  A 
more  detailed  analysis  of  his  mode  of  treating  some  of  the  more  important  doc- 
trines, will  be  given  later,  in  the  dogmatic  system  itself.  (The  paging  given  in 
this  anal>sis  refers  to  the  laige  quarto  edition  of  Preuss,  9  vols.  1863-1885). 

Book  I.  Locus  I.  De  Scriptura  Sacra  (Chapters  27,  pp.  13-240);  2.  De  natura 
Deiet  attributis  divinis  (Ch.  8.  pp.  241-370);  3.  De  sanctissimo  Trinitatis  mysterio 
(Ch.  13,  pp.  371-446);  4.  De  persona  et  officio  Christi  (Ch.  15,  pp.  447-608). 

Book  II.  Locus  5.  De  creatione  et  angeUs  (Ch.  6,  pp.  1-16);  6.  De  providen- 
tia  (Ch.  15,  pp.  17-47);  7.  De  electione  et  reprobatione  (Ch.  14,//.  48-106);  8.  De 
imagine  Dei  in  homine  (Ch.  \o,pp.  107-141);  9.  De  peccato  originali  (^Ch.  10,  pp. 


192  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Luthardt:  "A  more  careful  exegetical  treatment 
than  is  found  in  his  predecessors,  the  comprehensive 
consideration  of  the  material  afforded  by  the  history 
of  dogmas,  the  most  thorough  elaboration  of  every 
question,  the  objectiveness  of  its  judgment,  and  its 
firmness  in  polemics,  combined  with  the  reference  to 
the  practical  and  consolatory  use  of  the  individual 
dogmas,  distinguish  this  work,  which  also  through 
its  copious  application  of  the  scholastic  theology  (es- 
pecially in  the  doctrine  of  God),  and  its  employment, 
although  still  in  a  moderate  degree,  of  the  scholastic 
form,  was  of  the  most  significant  influence  upon  works 
which  followed  it." 

Tholuck  "The  progress  that  Gerhard  made  be- 
yond Chemnitz  and  Hutter,  consists  partly  in  a  more 
perfect  systematization,  partly  in  a  deeper  and  more 
speculative  argumentation  of  the  dogmas,  but  espec- 
ially in  the  completeness  and  comprehensiveness  of  the 
treatment." 

142-182);  10.  De  peccatis  actualibus  (Ch.  26,//.  183-237);  11.  De  libero  arbitrio 
(Ch.  12,//.  238-282). 

Book  III.  Locus  12.  De  lege  Dei  (Sections  208,  pp.  1-108);  13.  De  legibus 
ceremonialibus  et  forensibus  (Sec.  44,  pp.  109-140) ;  14.  De  evangelio  (Sec  130,  pp. 
141-202);  15.  De  poenitentia  (Sec.  145,  pp.  203-299);  16.  De  justificatione  per  fidem 
(Sec.  251,  pp.  300-520). 

Book  IV.  Locus  17.  De  bonis  operibus  (Sections  147,  pp.  T-136);  18.  De 
sacramentis  (Sec.  109,  pp.  137-219);  19.  De  circumcisione  et  agno  paschali  (Sec. 
6.S,  pp.  220-255);    20.    De  sacro  baptismo  (Sec.  271.  //.  256-398). 

Book  V.  Locus  21.  De  sacra  coena  (Ch.  26,  pp.  1-253);  22.  De  ecclesia  (Ch. 
13,  Sec.  305,  pp.  254-602). 

Book  VI.  Locus  23.  De  ministerio  ecclesiastico  (Ch.  10,  Sec.  375,  pp.  1-265); 
24,  De  magistratu  poHtico  (Ch.  8,  Sec.  489,  //.  266-562). 

Book  VII.     Locus  25.  De  conjugio  (Ch.  12,  Sec.  708,  pp.  1-466). 

Book  VIII.  Locus  26.  De  morte  (Ch.  10,  Sec.  A^T^pp.  1-391);  27.  De  mor- 
tuorum  resurrectione  (Ch.  13,  Sec.  124,  pp.  392-504). 

Book  IX.  Locus  28.  De  extremo  judicio  (Ch.  11,  Sec.  126,  pp.  1-126);  29.  De 
consummatione  secuH  (Ch.  11,  Sec.  107,  pp.  127-204);  30.  De  inferno  seu  morte 
aeterna  (Ch.  13,  Sec.  93,  pp.  205-287);  31.  De  vita  aeterna  (Ch.  12,  Sec.  i77>//- 
288-427). 


THE  DOGMATICS   OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  193 

Kahnis:  *'  The  strength  of  this  work  does  not  lie  in 
the  systematic  arrangement  of  the  material,  but  in  the 
thorough  elaboration  of  the  individual  doctrines,  ac- 
cording to  the  entire  extent  of  their  exegetical,  dogma- 
tico — historical,  symbolical,  polemical,  and  practical 
material." 

BuDDEUS:  ''Those  who  admire  his  industry,  but 
overlook  his  sound  judgment,  prove  thereby  that  they 
themselves  are  destitute  of  judgment,  as  I  am  certain 
that  they  cannot  produce  a  single  example  of  an  error 
in  judgment." 

Walther:  ^  "In  our  opinion,  this  work  is  the  most 
excellent  and  complete,  both  in  contents  and  form,  that 
has  been  produced  within  this  department  of  the  Christ- 
ian religion,  and  will  remain  until  the  last  day  the  model 
for  all  who  make  attempts  in  this  sphere." 

Not  only  was  Gerhard  a  giant  among  the  theolo- 
gians, but  he  Avas  a  most  successful  advocate  of  a  liv- 
ing Christianity,  and  his  ^^  Meditationes  sacr^"  show 
him  to  have  been  a  true  mystic. 

4)  NicoLAUS  HuNNius  {d.  1643),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Wittenberg  (1617-22),  and  Superintendent  at 
Luebeck  after  1623,  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
father,  Aegidius  Hunnius,  and  like  him,  was  possessed 
of  great  learning.  His  ''Epitome  Credendorum "  ^  has 
often  been  reprinted. 

5)  George  Calixtus^  (d.  1656)  introduced  the  ana- 
lytic method  (which  begins  with  the  end  of  all  theol- 
ogy, blessedness,  and  hence  takes  the  opposite  course 
from  the  synthetic)  into  the  treatment  of  Dogmatics, 

6.  All  these  eulogies  are  quoted  from  sketch  of  Geihard  in  Appendix  I,  to 
Schmid's  Doctrinal  Theology. 

7.  Translated  into  English  by  Gotthetl,  Nuremberg,  1847. 

8.  See/.  188.  Compare  also  H,  Schmid:  Gesch.  des  synkret.  Streitigkeiten, 
Erlangen,  1846;  Gass  :  G.  Calixtus  und  der  Synkretismus . 


194  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

and  also  separated  Ethics  Irom  Dogmatics.  The  de- 
fender in  the  great  Syncretistic  controversy,  his  princi- 
pal work  on  Dogmatics  proper  is  his  small  compend 
''Epitome  theologiae,''  published  in  1619.  In  his  later 
writings  he  departed  widely  on  various  doctrines,  from 
the  teaching  of  the  Lutheran  Church  ^ . 

6)  JoHANN  MusAEUS  {d.  1681),  professor  of  theology 
at  Jena  (1646-81),  possessed  an  excellent  philosophical 
training  and,  on  the  one  side,  vindicated  the  applica- 
tion of  philosophy  to  theology  against  the  disciples  of 
the  stiff  Lutheran  orthodoxy,  ^while  on  the  other  side, 
he  condemned  its  too  universal  use  by  the  theologians 
of  the  Reformed  Church.  He  regarded  theology  the 
object  not  only  of  the  intellect,  but  of  the  affections'^^, 
and  emphasized  to  such  a  degree  the  sanctity  of  the 
will,  that  he  has  been  regarded  as  a  precursor  of  Spener. 
He  refused  to  sign  the  Consensus  drawn  up  by  Calovius 
in  1655,  and  was  also  accused  of  Syncretism,  and  com- 
pelled in  a  formal  way  to  renounce  all  sympathy  with 
the  views  of  Calixtus  ^  ^ . 

7)  John  William  Baier  (d.  1695)  based  his  ''  Com- 
pendium Theologiae  Positivae  "  ^  ^  upon  the  theology  of 
Musaeus,  his  father-in-law,  and  of  ''many  other  ortho- 
dox theologians."  The  author  adopts  the  analytic 
method,  ^  ^  and  the  study  of  this  book  is  an  excellent 
introduction  to  the  older  Dogmaticians. 

g.     See  note  3  on  p.  189. 

10.  See  his  Introductio  in  theologiam.  Jena,  1678. 

11.  See  note  3  on  /.  189. 

12.  A  very  cheap  reprint  by  Preuss.  Berlin,  1864;  another  edition,  enlarged 
by  Dr.  Walther  appeared  in  1879-83,  in  3  vols.  St.  Louis  and  Dresden. 

13.  Prolegomena,  i.  De  natura  theologiae;    2.  De  scriptura  sacra. 

Pars  Prima,  i.  De  Deo;  2.  De  creatione;  3.  De  angelis;  4.  De  imagine 
Dei;  5.  De  providentia  Dei;  6.  De  beatitudine  aeterna;  7.  De  damnatione  aeter- 
na;  8.  De  morte  temporali;  9.  De  resurrectione  mortuorum;  10.  De  judicio  ex- 
treme et  consuramatione  seculi. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  195 

Dr.  Walther  ^  ^  sums  up  the  merits  of  this  com- 
pendium, as  ''great  completeness  combined  with  com- 
pact brevity,  exclusion  of  all  extraneous  material,  ex- 
quisite selection,  and,  above  all,  accurate  exegesis  of 
scriptural  proof -passages,  critical  comparison,  and 
employment  of  the  labors  of  his  predecessors  within 
the  department  of  dogmatics,  and,  in  addition  to  Lu- 
theran fidelity  in  doctrine,  the  expression  of  a  living 
heart-faith,  and  a  mild,  pious  sensibility." 

8)  Conrad  Dannhaner  {d.  1666),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy in  the  University  of  Strasburg,  where  Spener  was 
his  pupil,  had  considerable  influence  through  his  pro- 
found exegetical  labors.  In  his  ^^  Hodosophia  Christ- 
iana,^^ he  presents  the  dogmas,  in  the  analytical  meth- 
od, from  the  standpoint  of  a  man  who  is  a  pilgrim  on 
his  way  to  heaven.  He  was  an  ardent  champion  of 
Lutheran  orthodoxy,  and  his  zeal  for  the  purity  of 
doctrine  v^as  connected  with  the  most  earnest  personal 
piety.  He  wrote  against  the  Romanists,  against  the 
Calvinists,  and  against  Syncretism  (represented  by 
Calixtus). 

9)  JoHANN  HuELSEMANN  {d.  1661),  profcssor  of  the- 
ology at  Wittenberg  (1629-46),  and  at  Leipsic  after 
1646,  has  given  us  two  excellent  works  on  Dogmatics. 
His  compend  ^^  Breviarium  Theologise^^  (1640),  was 
enlarged  in  his  ^^ Bxtensio  breviarii^^  of  1648.     His  op- 

Fa7's  Secunda.  i.  De  peccato  in  genere;  2.  De  peccato  originis;  3.  De  pec- 
catis  actualibus. 

Pars  Tertia.  i.  De  gratia  Dei;  2.  De  Christo:  a)  De  persona  Christi,  b)  De 
statibus  exinanitionis  et  exaltationis,  c)  De  officio  Christi;  3.  De  fide  in  Christum; 
4.  De  regeneratione  et  conversione;  5.  De  justificatione;  6.  De  renovatione  et 
bonis  operibus:  7.  De  verbo  legis  et  evangelii;  8.  De  sacramentis  in  genere:  9. 
De  sacramentis  veteris  testamenti;  10.  De  baptismo;  11.  I'e  sacra  coena;  12.  De 
praedestinatione;  13.  De  ecclesia;  14.  De  ministerio  ecclesiastico;  16.  De  magis- 
t'-atu  politico;  16.   De  statu  et  societate  domestica. 

14.  In  vol.  T.  of  Lehre  und  Wehre.  See  Sketch  of  Dogmaticians  in  Schmid'§ 
Doctrinal  Theology. 


196  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

ponents  spoke  of  his  style  as  ''stilum  barbarum,  scho- 
lasticum,  holcoticum,  scoticum  ac  tenebrosum." 

10)  JoHANN  Friedrich  Kcenig  {d.  1664),  succes- 
sively Swedish  court-preacher,  professor  of  theology 
at  Greifswald  (1651),  superintendent  of  Mecklenburg 
and  Ratzeburg  (1656),  and  professor  of  theology  at 
Rostock,  after  1659,  was  one  of  the  *' dogmatic  virtu- 
osi" of  the  seventeenth  century.  His  compend  '' The- 
ologia  positiva  acroamatica^^  was  often  republished, 
and  widely  used  as  a  text-book,  and  forms  the  founda- 
tion of  Quenstedt's  famous  work.  It  is  more  scientific 
than  the  "Compend"  of  Hutter.  Buddeus:  "The 
author  comprehended  much  in  a  few  words  and  in  a 
forcible  manner ;  but,  by  an  excessive  desire  of  brevity 
and  accuracy,  produced  a  mere  skeleton,  destitute  of 
sap  and  blood." 

11)  JoHANN  SCHERZER  (d.  1683),  profcssor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Leipsic,  in  his  '' Breviculus  theologicus''  (1678) 
sought  to  present  a  system  of  dogmatics  in  a  still 
shorter  and  more  concise  form  than  Koenig,  which, 
however,  he  enlarged  in  his  "  Sy sterna  theologise'' 
(1680),  but  he  is  not  happy  in  his  definitions.  He  also 
wrote  the  best  Protestant  work  against  the  Roman 
Catholic  controversialist,  Bellarmine  {d.  1621). 

12)  Abraham  Caloviusi^  {d.  1686),  professor  of 
theology  at  Wittenberg  after  1650,  represents  the 
strictest  school  of  orthodoxy,  and  wrote  ably  on  all 
departments  of  theology.  His  '' Sy  sterna  Locorum 
Theologicorum''  (12  vols.  1655-77),  is  the  most  com- 
pact and  comprehensive  representation  of  Lutheran 
dogmatics,  the  true  exemplar  of  what  has  been  called 
Lutheran  Scholasticism  ^  ^ .    His  writings  are  more  po- 

15.  See/.  189,  and  fiote  on  p.  i86, 

16.  The  first  four  volumes  are  more  thorough  in  their  treatment  than  the 
later  volumes. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.   ,  197 

lemical  than  dogmatical.  His  great  exegetical  work 
''Biblia  Ulustrata''  is  mainly  a  refutation  of  the  Com- 
mentaries of  Grotius. 

13)  JOHANN  QuENSTEDT  {d.  1688),  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Wittenberg  (1649-88),  has  been  called  ''the 
bookkeeper  of  the  Wittenberg  orthodoxy."  His  ''  The- 
ologia  didactica  polemica,'^  which  appeared  in  1685,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  works  of  Lutheran  theol- 
ogy, and  is  noted  for  its  accurate  classification  of 
dogmatic  material.  On  account  of  the  objectivity  of 
his  treatment,  and  his  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  literature  of  his  own  times,  Quenstedt,  next  to  Ger- 
hard, is  the  most  instructive  representative  of  the  or- 
thodox dogmatics. 

''It  possesses  little  originality,  and  follows  closely 
the  outline  of  Kcenig,  but  shows  the  greatest  erudition 
in  its  citation  of  authorities,  and  skill  in  rendering  the 
work  of  reference  easy.  The  objection,  however,  is  often 
made,  that  Quenstedt,  by  his  excessive  attention  to  the 
details  of  his  system,  has  deprived  dogmatic  theology 
of  life,  by  reducing  its  doctrines  to  the  shape  of  mathe- 
matical formulas  ^  ^." 

14)  David  Hollazi^  {d.  1713)  is  especially  known 
by  his  v^ork  "  Examen  theologicum  acroamaticum  " 
(1707)  ^  ^  The  great  popularity  of  this  work  was  not 
due  to  its  originality  of  thought,  but  to  the  clearness 
and  terseness  of  its  definitions,  and  especially  to  the 
genial  and  irenic  tone  and  the  living  scriptural  charac- 
ter of  its  theology.  He  is  the  last  of  the  strict  Lutheran 
theologians,  but  in  the  period  of  transition  between 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  century,  took  an  inter- 

17.     See  Sketch  of  Quenstedt  in  Appendix  to  Schmid's  Doctrinal  Theology. 

18.  Or  Hollazius. 

19.  All  quotatio  s  will  be  cited  from  the  quarto  edition  of  1741. 


198  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

mediate  position  between  Lutheran  orthodoxy  and  pie- 
tism 20. 

In  the  form  of  questions  and  answers  he  recapitu- 
lates with  great  clearness  and  compactness  the  results 
attained  by  his  predecessors  ^  ^ . 

4.     The  Reformed  or  Calvinistic  Dogmaticians  of  this  period. 

The  dogmatics  of  the  Lutheran  Church  had  its  home 
in  Germany  and  bears  a  character  of  unity  and  conti- 
nuity; the  Reformed  dogmatics,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  developed  in  various  lands  and  under  the  influence 
of  different  schools  of  thought.  The  dogmatic  theology 
of  the  Reformed  Church  was  cultivated  mainly  in  the 
Netherlands,  ^where  we  meet    with  Arminianism   and 

20.  See  Wagenmann  in  Schaff-Herzog. 

21.  The  synopsis  of  the  whole  work  is  as  follows : 
Propcedia  Theologica. 

I.  De  theologiae  constitutione,  pp.  1-34;  2.  De  religione  et  articulis  fidei,pp. 
34-64;  3.  De  scriptura  sacra,  //. 64-198. 

Poedia  Theologica. 

Pars  Prima,  i.  De  Deo,  pp.  198-295;  2.  De  mysterio  Trinitatis,  pp.  296-361; 
3.  De  creatione,  pp.  361-385;  4,  De  angelis,  pp.  385-416;  5.  De  homine,  pp.  416- 
432;  6.  De  providentia  divina,  pp.  432-463;  7.  De  beatitudine  aeterna,  pp.  463-471, 

Pars  Secunda.  i.  De  imagine  Dei,  pp.  471-499  ;  2.  De  peccato  in  genere,  pp. 
499-516;  3.  De  peccato  originali, //.  516-546;  4.  De  peccato  actuali, //.  546-576; 
5.  De  defectu  liberi  arbitrii  in  spiritualibus,  pp.  567-592. 

Pars  Tertia.  A.  De  salutis  principiis.  i.  De  benevolentia  Dei  universali, 
pp.  Sg2-6i'2\  2.  De  praedestinatione, //.  612-659;  3*  De  persona  Christi, />/.  660- 
787;  4.  De  vocatione, //.  787-812;  5.  De  illuminatione, //.  813-847;  6.  De  con- 
versione,  pp.  848-870;  7.  De  reganeratione,  pp.  871-888;  8.  De  justificatione,  pp. 
888-927;  9.  De  unione  mystica, //,  927-942;  10.  De  renovatione, //.  942-958:  11. 
De  conservatione,  pp.  958-966;  12.  De  glorificatione,  pp.  966-984. 

B.  De  mediis  salutis.  i.  De  verbo  legis,//.  985-1022;  2.  De  verbo  evangelii, 
//.  1022-1041;  3.  De  Sacramentis,//.  T041-1067;  4.  De  baptismo, //.  1067-1094; 
5.  De  eucharistia,  //.  1095-1136;  6.  De  poenitentia  et  contritione, //.  1136-1157; 
7.  De  fide  in  Christum.  jz>/.  1157-1184;  8.  De  bonis  operibus, /^.  1184-1214;  9.  De 
morte  et  de  resurrectione  mortuorum,  pp.  1214-1233;  10.  De  extrerao  judicio  et  de 
consummatione  mundi,//.  1233-1264. 

Pars  Quarta.  i.  De  ecclesia,  pp.  1265-1325:  2.  De  ministerio  ecclesiastico, 
1326-1349;  3.  De  magisratu  politico,  //.  1350-1365;  4.  De  statu  ceconomico,  pp. 
1366-1384. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  199 

Calvinism  in  conflict,  with  a  scholasticism  in  compar- 
ison with  which  that  of  Quenstedt  is  only  child's  play, 
with  the  philosophy  of  Descartes,  and  the  federal  theol- 
ogy of  Cocceius.  In  England  we  meet  with  latitudina- 
rianism  and  deism,  and  in  France  with  the  teachings  of 
Amyraldus. 

The  centers  of  Reformed  Theology,  in  Switzerland, 
were  Basel,  Berne,  Zurich,  and  especially  Geneva;  in 
Germany,  Heidelberg;  in  the  Netherlands,  Franeker, 
Utrecht,  Groningen,  and  above  all,  Leyden;  in  France, 
Saumur,  Montauban,  and  Sedan. 

a)  Germany. 

The  Reformed  theology  of  Germany  assumed  a  pecu- 
liar type  known  as  the  German  Reformed  theology. 
Although  it  had  a  Melanchthonian  element,  it  was  still 
Calvinistic  in  its  tendency.  It  took  its  origin  in  the 
Palatinate,  and  had  received  its  expression  in  the  Hei- 
delberg Catechism  (1562). 

1)  Bartholomew  Keckermann  {d.  1609),  at  one 
time  professor  at  Heidelberg,  died  when  he  was  only 
thirty-eight  years  old.  His  '*  Systema  theologiae^^  was 
widely  used.  Heppe  says  of  him  that  the  height  of  the 
religious  and  philosophical  speculation,  and  of  the  dia- 
letic  skill,  of  the  German  Reformed  dogmatics,  is  found 
in  his  system. 

2)  Johann  Alsted  {d.  1638),  who  represented  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Nassau  at  the  Synod  of  Dort, 
1618,  was  a  very  prolific  writer,  and  his  works  give  a 
striking  idea  of  the  literary  and  scientific  attainments 
of  his  age.  The  various  theological  disciplines  were  dis- 
cussed by  him  in  separate  works.  ''  Theologia  Scholas- 
tica  didactica''  (1618),  '' Theol  polemica"  (1620), 
* '  Tbeol.  prophetica, "  etc . 

3)  Markus  Friedrich  Wendelin  (c7.  1652),  was 


200        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

one  of  the  chief  representatives  of  Reformed  Scholastic- 
ism. In  his  ^^Christianas  theologiae  sy sterna  majuSj^' 
published  after  his  death,  in  1656,  he  pays  a  great  deal 
of  attention  to  the  '^absurdas  Lutheranorum  opin- 
iones,"  and  accuses  them  of  Pelagianism. 

b)  Switzerland. 

1)  Amandus  Polanus  {d.  1610)  composed  a  ^'Syn- 
tagma theol.  Christ  ^^  (1610),  which  was  held  in  high 
repute.  Gass  says  that  Polanus  gave  the  first  example 
of  an  elaboration  of  the  doctrinal  system,  expounding 
and  making  distinctions  in  the  causal  method. 

2)  Johannes  Wolleb  {d.  1629),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Basel,  1618-29,  published  only  one  book,  his 
''Compendium  theologiae  Christianae,'^  1626,  but  it 
established  his  reputation  as  one  of  the  great  theolo- 
gians of  the  Reformed  Church.  The  work  is  noted  for 
its  clearness  and  precision  and  the  perfect  order  of  its 
arrangement. 

3)  Benedict  Pictet  (d.  1724),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Geneva  (1702-24)  was  an  able  and  voluminous 
writer.  His  "  Theologia  Christiana''  (1696  in  11  vols.) 
was  much  valued. 

c)  The  Netherlands. 

Among  the  Arminians  we  may  mention  the  great 
divines  Episcopius,  Grotius,  and  Limborch. 

1)  Simon  Episcopius  {d.  1643),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Leyden  (1611-18),  at  Amsterdam  (1634-43), 
among  other  v^orks  wrote  "  Institutiones  Theologi- 
cae''  and  "  Responsio  ad  Quaestiones  -Theologicas,'' 
which  became  the  standard  works  of  Arminian  the- 
ology. 

2)  Hugo  Grotius  {d.  1645)  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  Arminians.  In  his  "  Defensio  £dei  Catholicae  de 
satisfactione  Christi''  (1617),  written  to  clear  himself 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  201 

from  the  charge  of  Socinianism,  he  first  propounded 
what  is  known  as  ''the  Governmental  Theory  of  the 
Atonement."  According  to  this  view,  the  right  to  re- 
lax the  demands  of  the  law,  at  will,  belongs  to  God's 
prerogative  as  moral  governor.  Christ's  death  was 
not  a  vicarious  atonement,  not  a  real  satisfaction  of 
the  justice  of  God,  but  the  benevolence  of  God  requires, 
that,  as  a  precondition  of  the  forgiveness  of  any  sinner, 
he  should  furnish  such  an  example  of  suffering  in  Christ 
as  will  exhibit  his  determination  that  sin  shall  not  go 
unpunished.  His  apologetic  work  "Z>e  veritate  relig. 
Christ.''  (1627),  designed  for  seamen  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  Mohammedans  and  heathens,  has  been  trans- 
lated into  many  languages. 

3)  Philip  van  Limborch  {d.  1712),  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Amsterdam  (1668-1712),  completed  the  work 
which  Episcopius  began  and  Curcelleeus  {d.  1659)  con- 
tinued. His  '^  Institutiones  Theologiae  Christianae"  ^ 
(1686)  is  the  most  complete  exposition  of  the  Arminian 
doctrine  extant,  and  is  noted  for  its  perspicuity  and 
judicious  selection  of  material. 

Over  against  these  defenders  of  Arminianism,  in 
strict  adherence  to  the  praedestinarian  views  of  Cal- 
vin, may  be  mentioned  Gomarus,  Maccovius,  Maresius, 
and  Voetius. 

4)  Francis  Gomarus  (c/.  1641),  professor  of  theology 
at  Leyden,  Saumur,  and  Groningen,  was  the  leader  of 
the  extreme  Calvinistic  party,  and  the  declared  adver- 
sary of  Arminianism.  He  and  his  followers  (the  Gom- 
arists)  were  Supralapsarians,  L  e.,  they  held  that  God 
not  only  foresaw  and  permitted,  but  actually  decreed 
the  fall  of  man,  but  overruled  it  for  his  redemption. 
His  ''Loci  theol.''  appeared  in  1644. 

I.    Translated  into  English  by  William  Jones,  London,  1702. 


202  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

5)  Joannes  Maccoyius  {d.  1644),  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Franeker  (1615-44)  was  famous  as  a  dispu- 
tant. In  his  ''Loci  Communes''  (1626),  he  adopts  the 
scholastic  method  of  treatment. 

6)  Samuel  Maresius  {d.  1673),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Groningen  (1643-77),  wrote  many  polemical 
works  (against  the  Amyraldists,  the  Socinians,  the 
Jesuits,  the  Cartesians,  the  Federalists,  etc.). 

7)  Gysbertus  Yoetius  (J.  1676),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Utrecht  (1634-76),  was  a  pupil  of  Gomarus, 
and  a  strict  Calvinist  both  in  doctrine  and  in  policy. 
He  regarded  Arminianism  as  of  the  greatest  danger  to 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  and  waged  war  against  it 
to  the  bitter  end.  He  also  strongly  opposed  the  feder- 
alism of  Cocceius  and  the  philosophical  views  of  Des- 
cartes. 

The  philosophical  system  of  Descartes  gave  rise  to 
violent  controversies,  and  left  its  impress  upon  the  doc- 
trinal views  of  the  Reformed  Church,  for  the  theolo- 
gians who  belonged  to  this  school,  attempted  to  recon- 
cile the  principles  of  natural  and  revealed  theology. 

8)  Rene  Descartes  {d.  1650,  in  Stockholm),  was 
the  great  master  of  the  system  of  philosophical  ration- 
alism. Starting  from  the  principle  de  omnibus  est  du- 
bitandum,  Descartes  arrived  at  his  cogito,  ergo  sum,  as 
the  ultimate  fact  of  consciousness  v^hich  cannot  be 
doubted.  A  most  powerful  opposition  arose  against 
him  in  the  Church.  Yoetius,  in  1639,  charged  him  with 
Atheism,  his  philosophy  was  condemned  in  1647  ^nd 
again  in  1676  by  the  university  of  Leyden,  as  well  as 
by  the  Synod  of  Delft  in  1657. 

Over  against  its  serious  errors,  the  philosophy  of 
Descartes  has  given  to  the  world  some  fruitful  truths. 
He  established  the    authority    of  reason    in  its  own 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  203 

Sphere,  and  on  the  witness  of  consciousness  he  has 
constructed  a  barrier  sufficiently  strong  to  resist  the 
efforts  of  skepticism  and  a  narrow,  false  theology. 
Among  other  things  he  has  shed  special  light  on  the 
idea  of  the  infinite,  and  Deism  may  be  said  to  have 
been  philosophically  annihilated  by  him. 

The  Federal  Theology  originated  with  Cocceius,  and 
is  represented  by  Burmann,  Leydecker,  Witsius  and  Van 
Til. 

9)  Johannes  Cocceius  {d.  1669),  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Bremen  (1629),  Franeker  (1636),  at  Leyden 
(1650),  was  the  founder  of  the  Federal  Theology  2.  His 
principal  works,  in  which  his  views  are  developed  are 
his  "Summa  Doctrinae''  (1648),  and  '' Summa  Theolo- 
giae.^^  He  drew  his  theology  directly  from  the  Bible, 
and  from  it  alone ;  and  thus  he  put  himself  in  opposi. 
tion  to  the  scholastics  and  the  Cartesians.  But  as  an 
interpreter  Cocceius  is  open  to  the  charge  of  fanciful- 
ness.  Heppe  says:  *' The  fruit  of  his  influence  on  the 
Reformed  Dogmatics  was  to  lead  theologians  back  to 
the  Bible,  delivering  it  from  the  bondage  of  a  tradi- 
tional scholasticism . ' ' 

10)  Franz  Burmann  {d.  1679),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Utrecht  {d.  1662-79),  in  his  ''Synopsis  Theolo- 
giae^^  (1671)  attempts  to  reconcile  the  doctrines  of 
Cocceius  and  those  of  the  orthodox  Reformed  Church, 
and  embodies  the  results  of  the  Federal  theology  in  a 
permanent  form. 

11)  Melchoir  Leydecker  {d.  1721),  professor  of 
theology  at  Utrecht  (1679-1721)  simplified  the  Federal 

2.  His  whole  doctrinal  system  was  founded  upon  the  idea  of  a  covenant  be- 
tween God  and  man.  He  distinguished  between  i)  the  covenant  before  the  fall 
(of  works),  and  2)  the  covenant  after  the  fall  (of  grace).  This  latter  he  divides 
into  three  economies;  i)  the  economy  prior  to  the  law.  2)  under  the  law,  and  3) 
of  the  Gospel. 


204  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

theology  and  treated  the  whole  system  of  theology  in 
the  order  of  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity,  approxi- 
mating very  closely  to  the  Reformed  dogmatics  in  its 
traditional  form.  He  presents  his  system  most  fully  in 
his  "De  oeconomia  trium  personarum,^^  etc.,  (1682). 

12)  Hermann  Witsius  (cf.  1708),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Franeker  (1675-80),  Utrecht  (1680-98)  and 
Leyden  (1698-1708),  in  his  "De  oecotnia  foederutn  Dei 
cam  hominibus^^  ^  endeavored  to  mediate  between  the 
orthodox  Reformed  and  the  Federalists,  but  as  usual 
pleased  neither  party,  least  of  all  the  Federalists,  to 
whom  he  belonged,  who  accused  him  of  sinning  against 
the  Holy  Ghost.  The  work  itself  is  in  no  way  remark- 
able. 

13)  Solomon  van  Til  {d.  1713),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Dort  and  Ley  den,  was  one  of  the  ablest  of  the 
Reformed  divines.  In  his  "  Theologiae  utriusque  com- 
pendium turn  naturalis  turn  revelatae'^  (1704),  he  en- 
deavored to  set  forth  a  system  which  combined  Schol- 
asticism, Cartesianism,  and  Federalism. 

d)  England  and  Scotland'^. 

The  Reformation  in  England  ended  by  showing  itself 
decidedly  Calvinistic.  Scotland,  with  the  Presbyterian 
form  of  government,  also  received  from  John  Knox  the 
principles  of  Calvinism.  The  Church  of  England,  dur- 
ing the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  rep- 
resented by  Richard  Hooker,  Field,  Jackson,  and 
Archbishop  Laud,  and  during  the  latter  half,  by  Bull, 
Jeremy  Taylor,  Stillingfleet,  Waterland,  Bey- 
ERiDGE,    Pearson   and   Burnet.     In   the   established 

3.  English  Translation  in  3  vols.,  one  in  1763,  and  another  in  1771.  Last 
edition  in  2  vols.,  London,  1837. 

4.  Compare  Hagenbach's  Histo7-y  of  Doctriiies^  edited  by  Henry  B.  Smith. 
Vol.  2.,  pp.  182-195.  See  also  Perry's  History  of  the  Church  of  EnglaJid,  pp.  358- 
586,  New  York,  1880. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  205 

church  there  were  still  some  who  held  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  Reformed  theology,  such  as  Leighton,  and  Ro- 
bert South.  The  more  distinctive  Puritan  theology 
was  advocated  by  Charnock,  John  Bunyan,  Rich- 
ard Baxter,  John  Owen,  and  John  Howe.  The 
Scotch  divines  as  a  rule,  of  whom  we  may  mention 
Thomas  Boston,  and  the  New  England  divines  of  this 
period,  such  as  John  Cotton,  and  Cotton  Mather,  were 
strict  Calvinists. 

There  were  also  other  phases  of  theological  opinion 
in  England.  A  Platonizing  tendency  was  represented 
by  Ralph  Cud  worth,  and  under  Latitudinarianism  we 
may  class  such  names  as  ChilHngworth,  Tillotson,  and 
Samuel  Clarke. 

1)  Richard  Hooker  {d.  1600),  was  one  of  the  most 
eminent  divines  of  the  Church  of  England.  His  ^^Eccle- 
siastical Polity,  ^  more  than  any  other  w^ork,  has  given 
shape  to  the  theology  of  the  English  Church. 

2)  Richard  Field  {d.  1616)  was  an  intimate  friend 
of  Hooker,  and  in  his  famous  work  "  Of  the  Church  "  ^ 
treats  of  the  nature,  members,  and  government  of  the 
true  Church.  He  takes  the  moderate  view  of  the  Epis- 
copacy, 

3)  Thomas  Jackson^  {d.  1640),  was  originally  a 
Calvinist,  but  became  an  Arminian. 

4)  William  Laud^  (beheaded  1644),  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  was  the  great  High-Churchman  of  this 
period,  and  has  been  called  the  ''English  Cyprian." 

5)  George  Bull  {d.  1710),  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  in 
his  ^'  Defensio  Fidei  Nicense^^"^  (1685)  in  a  most  learned 

5.  Best  edition  by  Keble. 

6.  Republished  in  4  vols.,  Cambridge,  1847. 

7.  His  works,  of  which  his  Commentaries  on  the  Apostles''  Creed  is  the  best, 
have  been  republished  in  12  vols.,  Qjiford,  1844. 

8.  His  works  have  been  republished  in  7  vols.,  Oxford,  1853. 

9.  New  translation  in  2  vols.,  Oxford,  1851-2.  Best  edition  of  his  works  by 
Burton  in  8  vols.,  Oxford,  1827,  1846. 


206         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

manner  attempts  to  show  that  the  orthodox  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  existed  fully  developed  in  the  Christian 
Church  before  the  Council  of  Nicaea. 

6)  Jeremy  Taylor  {d.  1667),  ''the  Chrysostom  of 
English  theology,  but  in  brilliancy  of  imagination  sur- 
passing his  Greek  antitype,"  ^ »  was  decidedly  anti-Cal- 
vinistic  and  anti-Puritan,  and  not  altogether  free  from 
Pelagianizing  tendencies,  but  approximated  very  closely 
to  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  Sacraments.  He  is  best 
known,  however,  by  his  devotional  works,  such  as 
''Holy  Living''  and  ''Holy  Dying;'  and  his  "Life  of 
Christ:' 

7)  Edward  Stillingfleet  {d.  1699),  Bishop  of 
Worcester,  an  able  metaphysician  as  well  as  theolo- 
gian, was  an  ardent  opponent  of  Romanism,  and  took 
an  active  interest  in  the  Trinitarian  controversy  of  the 
age. 

8)  Daniel  Waterland  {d.  1740)  was  the  bold  de- 
fender of  the  orthodox  doctrine  against  the  Arians  and 
Socinians  of  his  time.  Against  the  views  of  Samuel 
Clarke  he  wrote  his  masterly  works  on  "  Christ's 
Divinity" '^K 

9)  William  Beveridge  ^^  (j.  1708),  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  has  been  styled  "the  great  reviver  and  restorer 
of  primitive  piety."  Among  his  works  we  may  men- 
tion his  "Doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England"  and  his 
"  Thesaurus  Theologicus." 

10)  John  Pearson  {d.  1686),  Bishop  of  Chester, 
was  one  of  the  great  divines  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  his  great  work  "Exposition  of  the  Creed"  ^^  is  a 
standard  to  this  day. 

10.  Stoughton  in  Schaff-Herzog. 

11.  His  works  appeared  in  a  new  edition,  in  6  vols.,  1843. 

12.  His  works  were  republished,  in  12  vols.,  Oxford,  1844-48. 

13.  Best  edition  that  of  Chevallier. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  207 

11)  Gilbert  Burnet  (d.  1715),  Bishop  of  Salisbury, 
mainly  known  for  his  historical  labors,  wrote  his  ^^Ex- 
position of  the  Thirty-nine  Artie les^^  in  1699. 

12)  Robert  Leighton  {d.  1684),  principal  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  Bishop  of  Dunblane  (1661- 
72),  Archbishop  of  Glasgow  (1672-74),  was  one  of  the 
noblest  characters  of  his  day. 

13)  Robert  South  {d.  1716)  was  a  strong  Calvin- 
ist,  and  though  anti-Puritan  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
polity,  was  a  Puritan  in  theology.  As  a  preacher  few 
in  the  English  Church  have  ever  excelled  him.  His 
mastery  of  English  is  almost  unrivalled. 

14)  Stephen  Charnock  (d.  1680)  is  best  known  by 
his  able  ''Discourses  on  the  Existence  and  Attributes  of 
God,^'  a  work  which  is  an  acknowledged  masterpiece. 

15)  John  Bunyan  (c/.  1688),  a  Baptist,  through  his 
immortal  w^ork,  the  ''Pilgrim's  Progress '^  has  aided 
greatly  in  spreading  evangelical  truths  among  the 
lowly  and  ignorant.  Coleridge  regards  this  book  as 
''incomparably  the  best  Summa,  Theologiae  Evangelicae 
ever  produced  by  a  writer  not  miraculously  inspired." 
Its  style  is  invaluable  as  a  study  to  every  person  who 
wishes  to  obtain  a  wide  command  of  the  English  lan- 
guage. 

16j  Richard  Baxter  (c/.  1691)  was  noted  as  a 
preacher,  a  pastor,  a  teacher,  and  a  theologian.  In- 
clined to  Calvinism,  he  was  nevertheless  independent 
in  his  theological  views.  He  sought  to  find  a  common 
platform  upon  which  all  could  meet — Calvinist  and 
Arminian,  Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian,  Protestant 
and  Romanist.  A  most  voluminous  writer,  Baxter  is 
mainly  known  by  his  '*  Saints'  Everlasting  Rest,'' 
which  is  only  readable  in  an  abridgment  of  an  abridg- 
ment.   His  chief  work  -was  his  "  Methodus  Theologiae 


208        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Christianas,^^  a  Latin  work  of  nine  hundred  folio  pages, 
published  in  1681. 

17)  John  Owen  1*  {d.  1683)  was  the  most  eminent 
of  the  Independent  divines  of  this  period.  He  was  a 
strong  Calvinist,  and  has  written  on  almost  all  the- 
ological topics. 

18)  John  Howe  {d.  1705),  one  of  Cromwell's  chap- 
lains, through  his  various  works,  has  left  an  impress 
on  Puritan  theology.  Robert  Hall :  "I  have  learned 
more  from  John  Howe  than  from  any  author  I  ever 
read." 

19)  Thomas  Boston  ^^  {d.  1732)  exercised  a  great 
influence  over  the  Presbyterian  churches  in  Scotland 
and  England.  He  is  best  known  by  his  ^^  Complete 
Body  of  Divinity,''  and  his  ''Fourfold  State.'' 

20)  John  Cotton  {d.  at  Boston,  1652),  was  a  volu- 
minous v^riter  ^  ^ ,  and  one  of  the  most  noted  of  the  Pur- 
itans in  America. 

21)  Cotton  Mather  {d.  1728)  is  the  author  of 
three  hundred  and  eighty  two  separate  works,  of  which 
several  are  elaborate  volumes,  while  the  great  work  of 
his  life  (in  his  own  view),  his  Bihlia  Americana  still  re- 
mains in  manuscript. 

22)  Ralph  Cudworth  {d.  1688),  an  English  Pla- 
tonist,  occupied  an  intermediate  position  between  the 
Puritanic  and  Romanizing  tendencies  of  his  time,  and 
was  an  able  champion  of  revealed  religion  against  the 
reigning  Deism.  His  fame  rests  on  his  great  work  ''The 
True  Intellectual  System  of  the  Universe"  ^ ''. 

23)  William    Chillingworth    (d.  1644)    is   best 

14.  Latest  edition  of  his  works  in  17  vols,,  Phil'a.,  1865-69. 

15.  Collected  edition  of  his  works  in  12  vols.,  London,  1852. 

16.  Dexter  in  his  Congregationalism,  as  seen  in  its  Literature^  mentions  36 
of  his  publications. 

17.  The  occasion  of  its  appearance  was  the  philosophy  of  Hobbes  (1588-1679). 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.  209 

known  by  his  famous  work  ^' The  Religion  of  Protest- 
tants  a  safe  way  to  Salvation,^'  which  is  an  able  vin- 
dication of  Protestantism.  ''The  Bible,  the  whole 
Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  is  the  religion  of 
Protestants." 

24)  John  Tillotson  {d.  1694),  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, was  a  Latitudinarian  in  his  tendencies,  being 
influenced  partly  by  the  writings  of  Chillingworth.  He 
ranks  among  the  foremost  of  English  preachers,  and 
was  strongly  opposed  to  popery. 

25)  Samuel  Clarke  {d.  1729),  was  a  philosopher 
as  well  as  theologian,  and  defended  the  Newtonian 
philosophy  against  Leibnitz.  His  fame  chiefly  rests 
upon  his  ^^  Discourse  upon  the  Being  and  Attributes  oi 
God,^^  and  his  ^^  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. ^^ 
This  last  work  exposed  him  to  the  charge  of  Arianism. 

e)  France. 

The  French  school  of  Amyraldists  was  preceded  in 
certain  respects  by  Camergn,  as  Amyraut  was  his 
pupil.  Its  great  opponent  was  Heidegger.  The  doc- 
trine was  renewed  by  Pajon  and  Papin. 

1)  John  Cameron  (c7.  1625),  professor  of  theology 
at  Saumur  (1618)  and  at  Montauban  (1624),  taught 
the  imputation  of  Christ's  passive  obedience  alone,  and 
advocated  the  theory  of  what  is  known  as  ''  hypothetic 
universalism,"  which  was  more  fully  developed  by  his 
pupil  Amyraut.  He  was  not  an  Arminian,  however,  as 
is  shown  by  his  ''  Defensio  de  gratia  et  libero  arhitrio  " 
(1624). 

2)  Moses  Amyraut  (Amyraldus)  {d.  1664),  profes- 
sor of  theology  at  Saumur  (1633-64),  in  his  ''Traite 
de  la  Predestination  "  expounded  the  doctrines  of  grace 
and  predestination  not  in  accordance  with  the  formulas 
of  the  Synod  of  Dort.    His  views  have  been  described 


210  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

as  ''the  combination  of  a  real  particularism  with  a 
merely  ideal  universalism."  The  Formula  Consensus 
was  drawn  up  against  his  views  in  Geneva,  1675. 

3)  JoHANN  Heinrich  Heidegger  (d.  1698),  professor 
of  theology  at  Heidelberg,  Steinfurt  (1659),  and  Zurich 
(1665),  was  the  great  opponent  of  Amyraldism.  He 
drew  up  the  Formula  Consensus  which  was  adopted 
by  the  city  of  Zurich  in  1675.  His  ''Corpus  Theolo- 
giae  Christianae'^  was  often  reprinted. 

4)  Claude  Pajon  (d.  1685),  for  a  short  time  pro- 
fessor of  theology  at  Saumur,  is  the  father  of  the  so- 
called  Pajonism,  a  peculiar  development  of  the  doc- 
trinal system  of  the  French  Reformed  Church.  A  fol- 
lower of  Amyraldus,  he  denied  the  immediate  concur- 
rence in  providence,  and  the  immediate  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  conversion. 

5)  Isaac  Papin  (c/.  1709),  a  pupil  of  Pajon,  departed 
more  and  more  from  the  Reformed  doctrines,  and  finally 
embraced  Romanism,  in  1690. 

SECTION    XIX. 

THE    DOGMATICS    OF    THE    PERIOD    OF    TRANSITION. 

The  dogmatics  of  this  period  shows  partly  a 
reactionary  character  over  against  the  tradi- 
tionalism and  formalism  which,  in  a  certain 
measure  pervaded  Theology,  and  partly  a  pro- 
gressive character  in  which  were  conflicting  ele- 
ments,—the  one  of  which  tended  to  a  better  life, 
the  other  toward  rationalistic  apostasy. 

I .     The  Dogmatics  of  Pietism  i . 

Pietism  denotes  a  movement  in  the  Lutheran  Church 
which  arose  as  a  reaction  of  the  living,  practical  faith 

I.  See  H.  Schmid :  Geschichte  des  Pietismus :  ]^6rd.\\nz&n,  li^T,.  A.  Ritschl: 
Geschichte  des  Pietismus.  2  vols.,  Bonn,  1880-1884. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION.  211 

against  a  dead  orthdoxy.  It  grew  from  the  very  prin- 
ciples of  the  Lutheran  Reformation,  and  would,  no 
doubt,  have  developed,  even  though  there  had  been  no 
dead  orthodoxy  to  react  upon. 

JoHANN  Valentin  Andrew  (c/.  1654),  a  grandson  of 
Jacob  Andreas  {d.  1590)  had  already  waged  a  polemic 
against  the  scholasticism  and  dogmatism  of  the  Lu- 
theran theology  of  his  time,  but  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury we  have  only  to  do  with  Pietism  in  its  early  stage, 
and  the  whole  movement  centres  around  the  person  of 
Spener. 

Philip  Jacob  Spener  id.  1705)  was  one  of  the 
purest  and  most  spotless  in  character  of  the  theolo- 
gians of  the  seventeenth  century ".  In  theological  culture 

2.  During  his  university  course,  at  Strassburg,  he  lived  a  very  retired  Iife» 
devoting  himself  entirely  to  his  books.  His  theological  teachers  were  principally 
Dannhauer,  Johann  and  Sebastian  Schmid,  the  last  named  being  the  most 
famous  exegete  of  his  day,  According  to  the  custom  of  the  times  he  completed 
his  studies  by  visiting  the  different  universities.  He  first  went  to  Basel  to  receive 
instruction  of  the  younger  Buxtorf,  at  that  time  the  most  celebrated  teacher  of 
Hebrew  on  the  Continent.  Afterwards  he  spent  a  year  at  Geneva,  and  also  five 
months  in  Stuttgait  and  Tuebingen,  and  his  qualities  o^  mind  and  heart  gained 
him  many  friends  in  Wuertemberg.  In  1666,  although  only  thirty  one  years  of  age, 
on  account  of  his  distinguished  talents  and  rare  learning,  which  was  profound, 
thorough,  and  comprehensive,  extending  even  beyond  the  sphere  of  theology  and 
philosophy,  he  was  chosen  senior  pastor  in  Frankfurt-am-Main. 

Although  most  heartily  attached  to  the  Lutheran  Church,  he  believed  that  in 
adhering  to  its  then  prevalent  orthodoxy,  it  had  departed  from  the  earnest,  lively 
Gospel  of  the  Reformers,  and  was  in  dangei  of  burying  its  talent  in  a  sterile  the- 
ology of  words  and  dead  orthodoxy.  He  aimed  at  a  reform,  and  this  should  con- 
sist in  an  inner,  living  theology  of  the  heart,  and  a  demonstration  thereof  in  true 
piety  of  life.  He  first  of  all  attempted  to  revive  a  thorough  system  of  catechetical 
instruction,  and  especially  attacked  the  system  of  mechanical  memorizing,  which 
was  then  as  common  as  now.  In  1670,  after  he  had  been  four  years  in  Frankfurt, 
he  invited  to  a  kind  of  friendly  re-union  in  his  study,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual 
edification,  the  most  serious-minded  persons  in  his  congregation,  and  thus  con- 
stituted the  so-called  collegia  pietatis.  In  1682,  twelve  years  later,  Spener  was 
able  to  change  his  private  meetings  into  public  gatherings,  and  transfer  them 
from  the  study  to  the  church. 

In  the  meantime  he  had  published  (1675)  his  famous  Pia  Destderia,  in  which 
he  laments  the  corruption  of  the  Church,  and  he  recommends  six  different  reme- 


212         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

he  was  equal  to  any  of  his  contemporaries.  It  was  his 
principle  to  submit  to  the  Confessions  of  the  Church, 
and  even  Calovius  himself,  that  great  champion  of  or- 
thodoxy, acknowledged  that  he  found  nothing  hetero- 
dox in  Spener.  And  such,  indeed  is  the  case,  for  he  is  in 
perfect  harmony  and  accord  with  the  greatest  theolo- 
gian of  them  all,  Johann  Gerhard. 

It  was  Spener  who  gave  character  to  Pietism  in  its 
first  stages,  but  he  cannot  be  called  the  father  of  Piet- 
ism as  it  was  developed  later  at  Halle  and  elsewhere. 

In  the  department  of  Dogmatics,  the  Pietistic  School 
originated  very  little.  Though  Spener 's  list  of  v^orks 
embraces  seven  volumes  folio,   sixty-three  in  quarto, 

dies.  These  remedies  were :  i)  The  spreading  of  a  more  general  and  more  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  Bible,  by  means  of  private  gatherings;  2)  Laying 
more  stress  upon  the  universal  priesthood  of  believers,  and  using  the  co-operation 
of  laymen  in  the  spiritual  guidance  of  the  congregation;  3)  Emphasizing  the  fact 
that  a  knowledge  of  Christianity  must  be  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  Christ- 
ian practice,  in  order  to  be  of  any  value;  4)  Instead  of  attacking  heretics  and  in- 
fidels with  merely  doctrinal  and  generally  more  or  less  embittered  polemics,  we 
should  use  love  as  cur  motive  power;  5)  A  re-organization  of  theological  study, 
so  as  to  make  a  godly  life  as  important  a  part  of  the  preparation  for  ministerial 
work,  as  study  and  learning;  6)  A  new  manner  of  preaching, —  a  return  to  the 
earnest  method  of  Apostolical  times. 

This  work  of  Spener  found  an  echo  in  many  hearts  in  Germany,  and  Spener 
ever  afterwards  adhered  to  these  six  propositions,  and  defended  them  against  all 
attacks. 

The  first  opposition  to  Spener  came  from  the  University  of  Leipsic,  under  the 
leadership  of  Johann  Benedict  Carpzov  and  Alberti,  which  was  aggravated  by  the 
founding  of  the  new  University  at  Halle,  which  immediately  became  the  home  of 
Pietism,  and  was  thronged  by  crowds  of  students.  It  was  at  Halle  that  Francke, 
Breithaupt,  and  Anton,  as  members  of  the  theological  faculty,  exerted  such  a  wide 
influence  as  the  later  leaders  of  the  pietistic  movement. 

The  Pietistic  controversy,  in  contrast  with  the  thorough  theological  discus- 
sions of  previous  decades,  was  entirely  of  a  personal  and  bitter  character,  and  the 
opponents  of  Spener  do  not  appear  to  a  good  advantage.  Deutschmann,  the 
senior  of  the  Faculty  at  Wittenberg,  did  more  harm  than  good  to  his  cause,  when 
in  his  Christlutherische  Vorstellung  (1695)  he  accused  Spener  of  two  hundred 
and  eighty-three  heresies.  All  these  accusations,  and  the  various  other  polemical 
writings,  Spener  answered  in  a  becoming  spirit,  and  in  1705  he  peacefully  entered 
into  his  final  rest. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION.  213 

seven  in  octavo,  and  forty-six  in  duodecimo,  still  they 
are  mainly  practical.  Joachim  Justus  Breithaupt  {d. 
1732),  professor  of  theology  at  Halle  (1691-1704), 
where  together  with  Francke  and  Anton,  he  gave  the 
whole  theological  study  its  peculiar  character  and 
tendency,  published  ^^  Institutiones  Theologicae^''  ^,  and 
^^  Theses  credendorum  et  agendorum  fundatnentales^^ 
(1700).  The  lectures  of  Paul  Anton  (c/.  1730)  ''Col- 
legium Antitheticum,'^  based  on  the  *'  Theses  ^^  of  Breit- 
haupt, were  published  after  his  death  in  1732. 

JoHANN  Anastasius  Freylinghausen  *  (d.  1739) 
was  also  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Pietistic  movement 
in  Germany,  and  succeeded  Augustus  Hermann  Francke 
(c/.  1727),  the  founder  of  the  Orphan  House  at  Halle, 
in  1727.  His  principal  theological  work,  "  Grundlegung 
der  Theologie^''  (1703)  is  noted  for  its  piety  and  practi- 
cal tendency,  in  opposition  to  the  dry  and  cold  scholas- 
ticism which  then  prevailed  in  the  German  Universities. 

JoHANN  Jakob  Rambach  {d.  1735),  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Halle  and  Giessen,  exercised  a  considerable  in- 
fluence as  a  mediator  between  Pietism  and  the  Wolffian 
philosophy.  His  '' Schriftmassige  Erklarung  der  Grun- 
dlegung der  Theologie^'  was  published  by  Freyling- 
hausen in  1738. 

Joachim  Lange  {d.  1744),  professor  of  theology  at 
Halle  after  1709,  was  the  literary  representative  of  the 
Pietists.  In  his  controversy  with  the  orthodox  Church, 
in  which  Lange  acted  as  spokesman  of  the  Pietists, 
he  was  far  from  being  a  match  for  Valentin  Ernst 
LosCHER   (d.  1749,)   the  acknowledged  leader  of  the 

3.  2  vols.  Halle,  1694;  much  enlarged,  3  vols.  1732. 

4.  His  most  valuable  productions  are  44  Hymns,  He  also  published  one  of 
the  best  German  Hymn  Books.  2  vols.  Halle,  1704  and  17 13.  The  historical  sig- 
nificance of  this  collection  consists  in  its  pietistic  spirit,  and  the  introduction  of  the 
element  of  subjective  devotion  as  a  supplement  to  the  older,  more  objective,  and 
churchly  hymns  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 


214         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY.   . 

orthodox  party,  the  author  oi^^Timotheus  Verinus,^'  of 
which  the  first  part  appeared  in  1718,  and  the  second 
in  1722.  Loscher  accused  the  Pietists  of  being  indiffer- 
ent to  the  truths  of  revelation  systematized  in  the  sym- 
bolical books,  of  depreciating  the  sacraments  and  the 
ministerial  office,  of  obscuring  the  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith  by  asserting  that  good  works  were  neces- 
sarily connected  with  saving  faith,  its  evidence,  indeed, 
—  and  he  altogether  rejected  the  chiliastic,  terminis- 
tic,  and  perfectionistic  doctrines  which  had  developed 
among  the  Pietists  ^ .  In  almost  every  point  there  was 
some  reason  for  the  opposition  of  Loscher.  and  he  was 
not  a  mere  dogmatist ;  on  the  contrary,  he  advocated 
the  cause  of  practical  piety  almost  with  as  much 
warmth  as  the  Pietists  themselves. 

Nevertheless,  the  fundamental  ideas  of  Spener  and 
his  followers  were  too  intimately  related  to  the  very 
principles  of  the  Reformation,  not  to  find  a  wide  ac- 
ceptance. In  less  than  half  a  century  Pietism  spread 
its  influence  through  all  spheres  of  life,  and  through  all 
classes  of  society ;  and  though  it  had  to  give  way,  in 
Northern  Germany,  to  the  rising  rationalism,  it  found 
a  new  home  in  Southern  Germany.  What  Spener, 
Francke,  Anton,  Breithaupt,  Arnold,  and  others  had 
been  to  Prussia  and  Saxony,  Bengel,  Weismann,  Oetin- 
ger,  Hahn  and  others  were  to  Wuertemberg  and  Baden. 

To  the  period  of  the  later  Pietism  belong  three  ten- 
dencies which  stand  in  part  in  a  reciprocal  operation 
with  it.  These  are  the  Biblical,  the  Historical,  and  the 
Philosophical  tendencies. 

2.     The  Biblical  Tendency. 

This  tendency  has  its  home  by  pre-eminence  in  Wuer- 
temberg.   Among  its  most  prominent  representatives 

5.     See  Riggenbach  in  Schaff-Herzog  under  Pietism. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION.  215 

we  may  mention  Bengel,  Crusius,  Oetinger,  Rieger  and 
Rods.  % 

1)  JoHANN  Albrecht  Bengel  ^  (c/.1752),  by  the 
publication  of  his  '^  Greek  Testament^'  and  an  ^^Ap- 
paratus Criticus^'  (1734),  laid  the  foundation  for  the 
science  of  Textual  Criticism.  His  famous  canon  was, 
''The  more  difficult  reading  is  to  be  preferred."  This 
work  was  followed  by  his  ^^ Gnomon  Novi  Testamentr^^ 
(1742),  which  remains  to  this  day  ''a  treasure-house 
of  exposition  delivered  in  sentences  whose  point,  clear- 
ness, brevity,  and  wondrous  depth  of  meaning,  render 
them  not  only  worthy  of  patient  study,  but  a  part  of 
the  mental  stores  of  the  attentive  student."  His  main 
principle  of  interpretation  was  ''to  put  nothing  into 
the  Scriptures,  but  to  draw  everything  from  them,  and 
suffer  nothing  to  remain  hidden  that  is  really  in  them." 
His  motto  was :  Te  totum  applica  ad  textum ;  rem 
totam  applica  ad  te.  With  a  profound  reverence  for 
the  Bible,  with  an  acuteness  which  let  nothing  escape 
him,  and  in  strict  conformity  to  grammatical  rules,  but 
untrammeled  by  dogmatical  or  symbolical  considera- 
tions, he  sought  to  find  out  the  exact  meaning  of  Scrip- 
ture. His  exegetical  principles  left  their  impress  upon 
his  dogmatic  system  (for  in  theology  he  was  but  a 
moderate  Lutheran),  and  this  displays  itself  most  fully 
in  his  view«  of  the  historical  development  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  in  his  realistic  interpretation  of  the 
Book  of  Revelation. 

2)  Christian  August  Crusius  {d.  1775),  professor 
of  theology  at  Leipsic  (1750-75),  v^as  the  staunch  ad- 
versary of  the  Wolffian  philosophy,  and  in  theology  he 

ij  Compare  Burk :  Memoir  of  Life  and  Writings  of  fohn  Albert  Bengel. 
From  the  German.  London,  1837;  Wachter:  y.  A.  BettgeVs  Lebensabriss.  Stutt- 
gart, 1865. 

2.     There  are  three  English  translations. 


216        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

defended  the  tradition  of  the  Church,  as  an  element  in 
true  exegesis,  against  Ernesti,  whose  exegetical  princi- 
ple admitted  only  a  purely  grammatical  interpretation. 
The  views  of  Crusius  are  most  fully  presented  in  his 
''  Hypomnemata  ad  theologiam  propheticam^'  '\ 

3)  Friedrich  Christoph  Oetinger*  (d.  1782),  the 
great  Swabian  theosophist  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
exercised  a  great  influence  in  the  pietistic  circles  of  Wiir- 
temberg.  Bengel,  with  whom  he  corresponded,  became 
his  ideal  in  theology,  Boehme,  in  philosophy,  and  at  a 
later  time,  Swedenborg,  He  sought  to  construct  a 
sacred  philosophy,  and  to  find  out  by  investigation 
the  original,  living  essence  of  truth,  by  studying  the 
two  Bibles, —  nature,  and  the  Word  of  God.  All  efforts 
to  separate  him  from  the  Lutheran  Church  proved  una- 
vailing, and  in  his  old  age,  he  said  that  his  entire  theol- 
ogy was  concentrated  in  Luther's  Catechism.  In  Wlir- 
temberg  he  had  many  followers,  and  he  exerted  a  great 
influence  over  Schelling  and  von  Baader.  The  peasant 
Michael  Hahn  was  one  of  his  most  remarkable  follow- 
ers, and  diffused  his  doctrines  among  the  people  ^. 

4)  Georg  Conrad  Rieger  {d.  1743)  was  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  preachers  of  the  pietistic  school,  and 
his  sermons  are  still  much  read  in  Wlirtemberg. 

5)  Magnus  Friedrich  Rocs  {d.  1803),  was  a  pupil 
of  Bengel,  and  exercised  great  influence  not  only  by  his 
writings,  but  also  by  his  magnetic  personality.  His 
''  Christ Hche  Glauhenslehre'^  is  still  much  read  in  Wlir- 
temberg (last  edition  1860). 

3.  Part  I.  General  Introduction,  1764;  Part  II.  On  select  passages,  1771; 
Part  III,  On  Isaiah,  1779.  See  also  Franz  Delitzsch :  Die  biblisch-proph.  The- 
ologie^  ihre  Fortbildung  durch  Crusius^  etc,  Leipsic,  1845. 

4.  Compare  his  Selbstbiographie,  edited  by  Hamberger,  Stuttgart,  1845;  also 
Auberlen :  '■'■  Oetinger'' s  Theosophie  nach  ihren  Grundsaetzen,''^  Tuebingen,  1847^ 

5.  See  Auberlen  in  Schaf-Herzog, 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION.  217 

3.     The  Historical  Tendency. 

Out  of  the  conflicts  between  the  orthodox  and  piet- 
istic  school,  arose  what  may  be  called  the  historical 
school.  The  theologians  of  this  school  sought  to  unite 
Lutheran  orthodoxy  with  free  investigation,  true  schol- 
arship with  religious  fervor,  strict  confessionalism  with 
anirenic  spirit.  Among  the  most  important  theologians 
of  this  tendency  we  may  mention  Buddeus,Pfaflf,  Walch, 
and  Mosheim.  Three  others,  also  belonging  to  this 
school,  Ernesti,  Michaelis,  and  Semler,  though  still  be- 
lieving in  a  divine  revelation,  nevertheless  by  their  prin- 
ciples of  interpretation,  prepared  the  way  for  the  ad- 
mission of  Rationalism  into  theology. 

1)  JoHANN  Franz  Buddeus  {d.  1729),  professor  of 
theology  at  Jena  after  1705,  was  a  man  of  genuine 
piety  and  immense  learning.  He  sought  to  harmonize 
orthodoxy  and  pietism.  He  was  distinguished  for  his 
fidelity  to  the  faith  of  the  Church,  and  his  firmness  and 
moderation  towards  those  who  dissented  from  it.  He 
wrote  more  than  a  hundred  books,  some  of  which  are 
still  acknowledged  authorities.  Especially  important 
are  his  '' Institutiones  theol.  dogm.''  (1723),  '' Instit. 
theol.  moralis^^  (1711),  and  ^^ Isagoge  hist,  ad  theol. 
universam  (1727). 

2)  Christof  Matthaeus  Pfaff  {d.  1760)  professor 
of  theology  at  Tubingen  (1714-56),  and  at  Giessen 
(1756-60),  was  a  man  of  great  accomplishments  and 
exercised  a  large  influence  as  a  teacher.  He  was  very 
active  in  promoting  a  union  between  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  Churches,  and  his  doctrinal  standpoint  was 
more  liberal  than  the  prevailing  orthodoxy,  as  is  evi- 
dent from  his  ^^ Institutiones  theologiae^^  (1719). 

3)  JoHANN  Georg  Walch  (d.  1775),  professor  of 
theology  at  Jena  after  1724,  took  an  active  part  in  the 


S18  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

philosophical  controversy  between  Buddeus  and  Wolff, 
and  in  his  ^^  Pbilosophiscbes  Lexicon  ^^  departs  from 
Lutheran  orthodoxy,  opening  the  way  on  one  side  for 
pietism,  and  on  the  other  for  rationalism  ^ 

4)  JoHANN  LoRENZ  YON  MosHEiM  (d.  1755),  profe^- 
sor  of  theology  at  Helmstadt  (1723-47),  and  at  Got- 
tingen  (1747-54)  was  the  most  learned  theologian  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  of  his  day.  As  a  theologian  he 
was  opposed  to  the  confessional  orthodoxy  on  the 
ground  that  theology  would  thus  be  excluded  from 
scientific  culture.  Mosheim  made  contributions  to 
nearly  every  branch  of  theological  science,  but  is  best 
known  by  his  works  in  the  department  of  Church  His- 
tory. 

5)  JoHANN  August  Ernesti  (d.  1781),  professor  of 
theology  at  Leipsic  after  1758,  enjoyed  great  fame  as  a 
classical  philologist,  and  in  his  '' Institutio  Interpretis 
N,  T."  2  (1761),  applied  the  same  principles  of  interpre- 
tation to  the  exposition  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  thus 
founding  the  grammatico — historical  school  of  inter- 
pretation. Though  Ernesti  held  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  and  believed  in  inspiration,  still  he  has  rightly 
been  called  the  father  of  rationalistic  exegesis,  and  his 
principles  undermined  the  old  dogmatical  method  of 
interpretation. 

6)  JoHANN  David  Michaelis  {d.  1791),  professor  of 
theology  at  Gottingen  after  1745,  bore  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  Old  Testament  as  Ernesti  did  to  the  New, 
and  was  by  no  means  a  pillar  for  the  waning  ortho- 

1.  The  principal  works  of  Walch  are  i)  Einleitung  in  die  Religionsstreitig- 
keiten  ausser  der  evang.  luth.  Kirche,  (5  vols.  1733-36);  2)  Einleitung,  etc.  inner- 
half  a  er  evang.  luth.  Kirche,  5  vols.  1730-39;  and  an  edition  of  Luther's  Works 
in  24  vols.     Halle,  1740-52. 

2.  Translated  into  English  and  published  in  the  Biblical  Cabi?iet,  Edinburgh, 
1834. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION.  219 

doxy  of  the  times,  for  in  theology  he  departed  widely 
from  the  Lutheran  orthodoxy,  and  openly  acknowl- 
edged that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  internal  testimony 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  His  ''Commentaries  on  the  Laws 
of  Moses''  (4  vols.  London,  1810),  and  his  ''Introduc- 
tion to  the  New  Testament''  (6  vols.  London,  1823), 
have  been  translated  into  English.  Kurtz:  **Noman 
was  a  ^eater  master  than  he  in  the  art  of  substituting 
his  own  empty,  superficial,  and  conceited  views  for 
those  of  the  sacred  authors,  and  then  to  explain  them 
at  great  length.  His  '  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of 
Moses '  is  a  classic  in  this  respect." 

7)  JoHANN  SoLOMO  Semler  ^  (1791),  profcssor  of 
theology  at  Halle  after  1757,  was  a  forerunner  of 
Rationalism  in  a  still  greater  degree  than  Ernesti  and 
Michaelis.  Endowed  with  great  gifts,  but  without  any 
depth  of  spiritual  character,'  he  undermined  the  pillars 
of  orthodoxy,  without  wishing  to  touch  Christianity 
itself,  by  disputing  the  genuineness  of  certain  books  of 
the  Bible,  by  laying  down  a  peculiar  theory  of  inspira- 
tion and  accommodation  to  the  peculiar  views  of  the 
New  Testament  Times,  which  allowed  error  and  delu- 
sion in  Scripture,  and  by  treating  the  history  of  dog- 
matics in  such  a  way  as  if  the  doctrines  of  the  Church 
were  the  result  of  misconception,  and  want  of  judg- 
ment. He  wrote  one  hundred  and  seventy  one  separ- 
ate works,  only  two  of  which,  however,  reached  a  sec- 
ond edition.  He  sowed  the  wind  and  reaped  a  whirl- 
wind, and  when  the  storm  of  rationalism  began  to 
rage,  Semler  died  of  a  broken  heart. 

4.     The  Philosophical  Tendency. 

This  tendency  had  its  origin  mainly  in  Wolff.  The 
great  stimulating  minds  in  philosophy  had  been  Descar- 

3.    See  H.  Schmid;  Bt'e  Theologie  Setnlers.  Nordlingen,  1858. 


220         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

tes,  Spinoza  and  Leibnitz.  Wolff  developed  and  meth- 
odized the  system  of  Leibnitz.  Theological  representa- 
tives of  the  philosophical  tendency  are  Reinbeck,  S.  J. 
Baumgarten  and  Toellner. 

The  philosophy  of  Descartes  *  (1596-1650)  is 
neither  a  Catholic  nor  a  Protestant  philosophy,  and 
gave  rise  to  tv^o  tendencies,  the  one  pantheistic,  the 
other  theistic.  It  was  Spinoza  (1632-77)  who  trans- 
formed the  dualism  of  Descartes  into  a  pantheism, 
whose  fundamental  conception  was  the  unity  of  sub- 
stance. He  has  greatly  impressed  himself  upon  much  of 
the  subtlest  speculation  of  our  century.  Fichte,  Schell- 
ing,  Schleiermacher,  Hegel,  and  many  others,  ow^e  very- 
much  to  him.  In  fact,  Spinoza  has  largely  contributed 
to  the  various  phases  of  pantheism  so  current  in  our 
day,  and  his  influence  upon  our  own  time  is  larger  than 
upon  his  own. 

The  immortal  Leibnitz  (1646-1716),  the  father  of 
German  philosophy,  at  once  one  of  the  most  independ- 
ent thinkers  and  one  of  the  profoundest  scholars  of  his 
age,  and  of  all  time,  exerted  a  great  influence  upon  the 
theology  and  general  culture  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
chiefly  through  his  famous  ''Theodicy  (1710),  in  which 
he  attempted  to  demonstrate  the  agreement  of  reason 
with  faith,  and  to  vindicate  God  in  view  of  the  evil  in 
the  world,  maintaining  that  there  is  a  harmony  be- 
tween the  kingdom  of  nature  and  grace.  His  philoso- 
phy was  theistic  and  was  directed  pre-eminently  to- 
ward the  union  of  the  theological  and  cosmological 
conceptions  of  the  world. 

Christian  Wolff  (1679-1754),  adopting  the  the- 
ories of  Leibnitz,  modifying  them  partly  with  ideas 
derived  from  Aristotle,  so  systematized  them,  and  pro- 

4.    See/.  202. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION.  221 

vided  them  with  demonstrations,  that  he  founded  a 
comprehensive  system  of  philosophy.  This  was  done 
with  such  talent  and  ability,  that  nearly  all  the  disci- 
ples of  Leibnitz  in  Germany  were  influenced  by  him, 
and  the  school  was  and  still  is  designated  as  the  Leib- 
nitz-Wolfiian.  This  philosophy  became  more  and  more 
prevalent  and  opened  the  way  for  the  theological  Ra- 
tionalism, which  was  afterwards  more  fully  developed 
by  Kant  and  his  school. 

The  earlier  followers  of  Wolff  remained  faithful  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Church.  Joh.  Gust.  Reinbeck 
(1682-1741)  prefixed  to  his  reflections  on  the  truths 
contained  in  the  Augsburg  Confession  a  preface  on  the 
use  of  reason  and  philosophy  in  theology.  Sigmund 
Jacob  Baumgarten  (1706-1757),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Halle  after  1730,  exerted  a  wide  influence  as  a 
teacher.  By  adopting  the  formal  scheme  of  the  philos- 
ophy of  Wolfl",  and  applying  it  to  the  theological  ideas 
of  Pietism,  he  formed  the  transition  from  the  pietism 
of  Spener  and  Francke  to  the  modern  rationalism.  But 
it  was  especially  Johann  Gottl.  Tollner  {d.  1774) 
who  first  opened  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  Ra- 
tionalism into  dogmatic  theology.  He  taught  ''that 
God  leads  man  to  happiness  already  by  natural  revel- 
ation," and  that  the  revelation  of  Scripture  is  only  a 
more  certain  and  perfect  means  thereto.  He  also  found 
no  trace  of  inspiration  in  the  Bible,  since  the  sacred 
authors  thought  and  wrote  without  any  special  divine 
aid. 

5.     The  History  of  Dogmatics  outside  of  Germany. 

This  is  the  best  place  to  present  a  brief  outline  of  the 
history  of  theology  outside  of  Germany,  during  the 
eighteenth  century.  On  the  whole,  nearly  all  the  Prot- 
estant countries  took  very  little  notice  of  the  conflicts 


222  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

going  on  there.  In  England  the  principles  of  Arianism 
were  taught  by  Samuel  Clarke  {d.  1729),  and  the  Uni- 
tarian controversy  was  continued  by  Joseph  Priest- 
ley (d.  1804,  having  come  to  the  United  States  in 
1794),  whose  great  opponent,  Samuel  Horsley  {d. 
1806),  was  more  than  a  match  for  him,  ''his  spear 
having  pierced  the  Socinian's  shield,"  as  Gibbon  ex- 
presses it. 

Among  the  more  prominent  dogmatic  writers  of  the 
Church  of  England  we  may  mention  Daniel  Water- 
land  1  (d.  1740),  Thomas  Stackhouse  ^  (d.  1752), 
Thomas  Secker  (d.  1768),  Augustus  Montague  Top- 
lady  (d.  1778),  William  Warburton  ^  (d.  1779),  Jones 
ofNayland(c/.  1800),  and  George  Tomline*(c/.  1827). 
Among  the  Baptists,  John  Gill^  {d.  1771)  takes  the 
highest  rank. 

Of  the  three  new  sects  ^  that  originated  in  the  eight- 
eenth century,  by  far  the  most  powerful  and  influential 
took  its  rise  in  England.  John  Wesley  {d.  1791)  and 
John  William  Fletcher  {d.  1785)  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  Wesleyan  Arminianism,  while  George  White- 
field  {d.  1770)  became  the  father  of  the  Welsh  or  Cal- 
vinistic  branch  of  Methodism. 

Of  the  theologians  of  the  eighteenth  century  no  one 
was  superior  to  Jonathan  Edwards  (d.  1758),  the 

1.  The  bold  defender  of  the  Church  Doctrine  against  the  Arians  and  Socin- 
iaas  of  his  time.    See/.  206. 

2.  His  "Complete  Body  of  Divinity"  (1729)  reached  a  third  edition  in  1755. 

3.  His  famous  work  "  The  Divine  Legation  of  Moses "  was  written  agaifist 
the  Deists. 

4.  His  '-Elements  of  Christian  Theology"  (2  vols.  London,  1799;  14th  ed. 
1943),  is  one  of  the  standard  works  of  theology  in  the  Church  of  England. 

5.  In  his  '•  Body  of  Divinity"  (3  vols.  1769;  new  ed.  London,  1839),  he  takes 
a  strong  Calvinistic  ground,  but  is  violently  opposed  to  Infant  Baptism. 

6.  Methodism  founded  by  yo/m  Wesley^  the  Unitas  Fratrum  or  Moravians, 
resuscitated  by  Count  Zinzendor/  {d.  at  Herrnhut,  1760),  and  the  New  Jerusalem 
Church  founded  by  Ema7iuel  Swedenborg  {d.  1772). 


THE  DOGMATICS  OFRATIONALISM.  223 

most  distinguished  divine  of  America,  who  was  the 
great  defender  of  Calvinism  against  all  the  objections 
raised  by  Arminianism,  and  the  founder  of  the  so-called 
''  New  England  Theology." 

SECTION  XX. 

THE  DOGMATICS  OF  RATIONALISM  AND  SUPRANATURALISM. 

This  was  a  period  in  which  there  seemed  to  be 
a  life  struggle  between  the  revealed  testimony  of 
God  and  the  self-asserting  Kationalism  of  man. 
In  it  the  defense  of  truth  was  impaired  by  the 
unconscious  demoralization  of  the  spirit  of  the 
times,  in  the  very  men  who  attempted  to  repre- 
sent and  defend  the  truth. 

I.     The  Illumination  falsely  so-called,  i 

1)  In  England. 

Deism  flourished  in  England  during  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  was  an  indirect  product 
of  the  tendencies  at  work  within  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. Deism  has  been  defined  as  the  exaltation  of  Nat- 
ural Religion,  so  as  to  make  it  the  normal  rule  of  all 
positive  religions. 

Eminent  in  this  school  v^as  Lord  Herbert  of 
Cherbury  (d.  1648),  who  was  free  from  the  usual  lev- 
ity of  the  Deists  and  attempted  with  serious  earnest- 
ness, and  as  he  thought  for  the  glory  of  God,  in  his  two 
principal  works,  De  Veritate  (1624)  and  Be  religione 
Gentilium  (1645),  to  show  that  natural  religion  is  the 
heart  of  all  religions  and  sufficient  for  salvation  with- 
out  Revelation. 

I.  Compare  Lechler:  Geschichte  des  engl,  ZJ^/jwaj.  Stuttgart,  1841;  Farrar: 
A  Critical  History  of  Free  Thought.  New  York,  1881;  Hurst:  History  of  Ra- 
tionalism. Ninth  revised  edition.  New  York.  Cairns:  Unbelief  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century.  Edinburgh,  1881. 


224        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

The  tendency  of  Herbert  was  developed  with  consid- 
erable ability  and  with  marked  effect  by  a  number  of 
Deistical  writers,  among  whom  ^were  Anthony  Col- 
lins (1729),  Matthew  Tindal  {d.  1733),  called  the 
" Great  Apostle  of  Deism,"  whose  chief  work  ^^Christ- 
ianity as  Old  as  the  Creation^'  (1730),  may  be  called 
the  Deist's  Primer,  Lord  Bolinghoke  {d.  1751),  Dayid 
Hume  (d.  1776),  and  others  of  the  same  school. 

The  general  position  of  this  school  was  that  the 
Bible  was  full  of  absurdities  and  of  statements  and 
principles  conflicting  with  morality, —  that  the  tradi- 
tional Christianity  of  the  Church  was  for  the  most 
part  a  work  either  of  weak  or  hypocritical  men. 

2)  In  France. 

In  France  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  {d.  1778)  ap- 
peared, writing  in  a  charming  style,  demanding  a  re- 
turn to  nature  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  His  works 
present  the  dream  of  a  poet.  The  Christianity  he  ac- 
kno^edges  is  mere  natural  religion,  and  this  kind  of 
Christianity  he  defends  with  great  ardor  in  his  ^^Pro- 
fession de  Foi  da  Vicaire  Savoyard, ^^  in  ''  Emile.^^ 

Voltaire  {d.  1778)  has  not  the  refinement  of  feeling 
nor  the  delicacy  of  style  which  characterize  Rousseau. 
He  shows  a  personal  hatred  to  Christ,  and  with  his 
poisonous  satire  attempts  to  render  ridiculous  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  These  two  great  writers  and  their  imita- 
tors controlled  educated  France.  What  they  still  left 
of  the  general  religious  ideas  of  men,  belief  in  God, 
recognition  of  a  realm  of  truth  and  virtue,  w^as  thrown 
to  the  winds  by  the  Materialism  which  followed  them. 
These  older  infidels  became  by  comparison  almost  rela- 
tively orthodox.  The  leaders  of  the  coarser  infidelity 
were  Diderot  (d.  1784),  D'Alembert  {d.  1783),  Hel- 
VETius  {d.  1771),  and  others. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  RATIONALISM.  226 

3)  In  Germany. 

The  witty  frivolity  of  the  French  found  a  lodgment 
in  the  court  of  Frederick  II  of  Germany  (King  of  Prus- 
sia from  1740-86),  and  through  the  influence  of  the 
court  more  and  more  exercised  a  baneful  influence  upon 
the  people.  The  watchword  of  the  time,  in  all  spheres 
of  thought,  was  the  word  ''Illumination,"  and  the 
centre  or  focus  of  this  light  was  Berlin. 

4)  The  development  in  Theology. 

While  this  movement  was  taking  place  in  the  outside 
world,  a  development  in  theology  correspondent  with 
it,  took  place.  Among  the  perverters  of  truth  two 
names  are  conspicuous,  first,  the  frivolous  Bahrdt,  and 
the  other,  the  more  earnest  but  no  less  negative  Reim- 
arus. 

Bahrdt  {d.  1792)  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  talent, 
and  full  of  activity.  He  wrote  about  126  books,  but  a 
mere  trifler  in  science,  a  man  lewd  in  life,  passing  over 
first  from  Crusius  to  Ernes ti,  seeking  to  do  away  with 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  under  pretense  of  develop- 
ing a  Biblical  system  {'^ Dogmatics ^^^  1768).  Subse- 
quently, advancing  still  further  he  tried  to  show  that 
Scripture  itself  can  be  of  no  use  in  the  establishment  of 
right  faith  {''Newest  Revelations,''  1772),  and  finally 
went  over  completely  on  the  side  of  those  who  ac- 
knowledge nothing  but  Natural  Religion  {''  Moral  Re- 
ligion,'' 1787).  He  made  morality  the  basis  of  all  re- 
ligion, and  offered  himself,  the  most  immoral  of  men, 
as  teacher  of  Morals  to  mankind. 

Reimaurus  {d.  1768)  first  appeared  as  a  defender  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  existence  and  attributes  of  God, 
from  the  wise  constitution  of  nature.  An  assailant  of 
Atheism  and  Spinozism,  he  subsequently  introduced 
English  Deism  into  Germany  by  means  of  a  work  pub- 


296  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

lished  after  his  death  by  Lessing,— the  famous  "  Wolien- 
biittel  Fragments''  (1774-78),  which  claim  to  be  an 
apology  for  the  rationalistic  worship  of  God.  In  this 
work  Reimaurus  attempted  to  show  the  irrationality 
and  immorality  of  a  large  portion  of  Scripture  and  of 
Biblical  characters,  and  the  contradiction  especially  in 
the  narratives  of  the  Evangelists. 

These  attacks  upon  revealed  Religion  were  met  in- 
deed and  answered,  nevertheless  the  thought  which 
lay  at  the  bottom  of  this  movement, —  the  reduction 
of  revealed  religion  to  the  standard  of  nature, — con- 
stantly gained  ground.  This  was  partly  due  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  so-called  popular  philosophy,  into  which 
the  philosophy  of  Wolff  had  run  out,  a  philosophy  in 
which  the  lighter  tone  of  conversation  had  taken  the 
place  of  that  of  the  heavy  mathematical  demonstra- 
tion. Mendelssohn  {d.  1786)  and  others  represented 
this  philosophy. 

Over  against  this  intellectual  tendency,  the  feeble 
supporters  of  the  position  of  the  older  Church  knew 
no  better  w^ay  than  to  make  concessions.  These  pro- 
fessed defenders  of  orthodoxy  talked  much  of  the  bonds 
which  held  together  reason  and  faith,  and  the  result 
was  that  illogical  mixed  theology,  which  was  neither 
rationalistic  nor  orthodox,  —  too  rationalistic  to  be 
orthodox,  too  orthodox  to  be  rationalistic,  and  was 
thus  at  once  neither  and  both.  Lessing  {d.  1781)  hated 
it  so  thoroughly  that  he  declared  that  the  old  ortho- 
doxy would  be  far  more  acceptable  than  this  mongrel 
system. 

Among  the  representatives  of  this  enfeebling  of  the 
Church  doctrine  may  be  mentioned  Seiler  {d.  1807), 
DoDERLEiN  {d,  1789),  MoRus  {d.  1792),  Gruner  {d, 
1778)  and  Teller  {d.  1804). 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  RATIONALISM.  227 

This  whole  efFort  to  render  the  Christian  doctrine 
more  rational,  obtained  a  fixed  principle  through  the 
labors  of  Kant. 

2.     Kant. 

Among  the  greatest  names  in  modern  philosophy  is 
that  of  Immanuel  Kant  {d.  1804).  His  influence  has 
been  felt  in  every  department  of  thought,  and  for  a 
time  at  least  was  a  special  power  in  the  domain  of  the- 
ology. He  reasoned  out  from  a  critique  of  the  faculty 
of  cognition,  and  deduced  from  it  the  conceptions  of 
space  and  time,  the  categories  of  the  understanding, 
the  ideas  of  reason,  which  he  maintained  are  purely 
subjective  and  afforded  no  objective  certainty.  He 
maintained  that  we  cannot  demonstrate  the  existence 
of  God,— that  the  ordinary  proofs  of  it  are  untenable- 
Pure  reason  can  make  no  affirmation  in  regard  to  God. 
These  views  he  maintained  in  his  ''Critique  of  Pure 
Reason''  (1781). 

On  the  other  hand,  according  to  him,  God  is  a  pos- 
tulate of  the  Practical  Reason.  Man,  as  a  theorizer 
can  reach  no  conception  of  God,  but  man  as  a  being  of 
moral  activity  is  driven  to  a  recognition  of  a  Supreme 
Being.  Conscience  demands  unconditional  recognition 
of  the  moral  law  of  God.  But  with  the  world  of  virtue, 
the  world  of  impulse,  desire  and  passion,  is  in  conflict, 
and  yet  is  equally  essential  to  it ;  we  cannot  remove  the 
dissonance  of  the  two  worlds  by  destroying  either.  This 
conflict  demands  a  harmonizing,  which  will  be  brought 
about  by  God,  after  death.  The  essential  substance  of 
religion  he  upholds  to  be  1)  God,  2)  virtue,  3)  immor- 
tality. These  principles  he  develops  in  his  work,  '^  Re- 
ligion within  the  bounds  of  Mere  Reason''  (1793).  In 
accordance  with  these  principles  we  are  to  form  our 
judgment  of  every  form  of  religion  and  by  them  are  to 
vindicate  the  pre-eminence  of  Christianity. 


228        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

In  these  views  Kant  gave  expression  to  the  domi- 
nant tendency  of  his  time,  and  although  his  views  were 
of  a  decidedly  Pelagian  character,  they  yet  gave  rise  to 
a  relatively  greater  moral  earnestness. 

3.     Vulgar  Rationalism. 

The  vulgar  Rationalism  was  the  product  of  these 
two  elements,  the  illumination  on  the  side,  the  Kantian 
philosophy  on  the  other,  meeting  and  fusing  in  the 
sphere  of  theology.  Its  essence  has  been  defined  to  be 
the  union  of  the  deistic  religion  of  Reason,  with  posi- 
tive Protestanism.  It  proposed  to  reform  Christianity 
in  accordance  with  the  wants  of  the  time  and  the  de- 
mand of  what  was  then  passing  for  reason.  It  was 
not  so  much  a  set  of  doctrines  or  even  of  negations,  as 
a  method  of  interpretation ;  it  fixed  the  reason  of  men 
as  the  absolute  standard,  adjusted  revelation  by  it  and 
forced  the  texts  to  accord  with  what  it  assumed  to  be 
true. 

In  the  Rationalism  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  all  the 
faith  was  submitted  to  the  dominant  culture  of  the 
times.  The  spurious  illumination  of  the  age  deter- 
mined the  position  of  Scripture,  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church,  and  of  revelation  in  general.  On  the  question 
of  the  necessity  of  revelation,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
word.  Rationalism  really  made  the  same  decision  as 
Deism,  that  is,  it  denied  revelation  in  the  strict  sense, 
and  the  revelation  it  seemed  to  grant  and  to  patronize 
was  a  figment  of  its  own,  at  least  the  result  of  a  mere 
ordinary  providence,  -svith  nothing  supernatural  in  it. 

The  Dogmaticians  of  this  tendency  appeared  with 
more  or  less  closeness  to  Kant.  Among  these  we  may 
mention  Tieftrunk  (professor  of  philosophy  at  Halle, 
d.  1837),  Henke  (professor  of  theology  at  Helmstadt, 
1780-1809),  Staudlin  (professor  of  theology  at  Qot- 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  RATIONALISM.  229 

tingen,  1790-1826),  Rohr  (court-preacher  at  Weimar, 
1820-1848),  and  Wegscheider  (professor  of  theology 
at  Halle,  1810-1849). 

Wegscheider  was  the  chief  dogmatician  of  Rational- 
ism 1 .  His  views  are  in  brief  these :  Christ  is  a  man, 
who  obtained  for  himself  the  just  claims  to  the  title  of 
the  Son  of  God.  His  death  is  a  symbol  of  the  fact  that 
sacrifices  are  abrogated,  but  is  not  to  be  abused  as  a 
plaster  for  the  conscience  of  bad  and  morally  corrupt 
men.  God  is  no  blood-thirsty  Moloch,  and  all  the  sin- 
ner needs  is  the  reformation  of  his  life.  The  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  is  the  resuscitation  from  seeming  death, 
a  distinguished  proof  of  the  existence  of  divine  provi- 
dence. The  ascension  of  Christ  is  a  tradition,  like  that 
of  Romulus  and  others.  The  righteousness  before  God 
is  obtained  not  by  outward  works,  but  neither  is  it  ob- 
tained by  mere  faith,  but  through  the  gracious  state  of 
feeling  which  pleases  God.  This  is  possible,  for  original 
sin  is  a  gloomy  figment.  The  operation  of  the  Word 
is  a  natural  one.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  super- 
natural operation  of  the  Spirit  in  man.  Reformation  is 
a  work  of  personal  activity,  the  Sacraments  are  mere 
symbols.  Baptism  is  a  rite  of  consecration  and  initia- 
tion, and  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  memorial  meal.  The 
doctrine  concerning  "the  Last  Things  "  reduces  itself  to 
faith  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments. 

This,  says  Luthardt,  is  the  Dogmatics  of  Rational- 
ism. Others  attempted  to  approximate  somewhat 
more  closely  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  without  how- 
ever, abandoning  the  rationalistic  basis.  Such  were 
Ammon  (1766-1850),  Bretschneider  (1776-1848), 
and  TzsCHiRNER  (professor  of  theology  at  Leipsic,  d. 
1828).    But  whatever  may  be  the  relative  moderation 

I.     See  his  Instit.  theol.  Christ,  dog,,  1815.    8th  edition,  1844. 


230  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

of  this  School,  the  point  of  view  is  substantially  the 
same  as  the  other.  The  distinctions  are  only  those  of 
degree. 

Karl  Hase,  in  his  ^'Theologische  Streitschriften " 
(1834-37),  has  left  to  the  vulgar  rationalism  nothing 
whatever  to  stand  on,  and  there  is  not  at  this  hour,  in 
Germany,  a  solitary  theologian  of  commanding  posi- 
tion who  adheres  to  the  old  Vulgar  Rationalism.  That 
which  swept  over  Germany  like  a  flood  has  passed 
away,  and  left  nothing  but  memorials  of  the  death 
which  it  brought  with  it. 

4.     Supranaturalism. 

Supranaturalism  maintains  the  necessity  and  actual- 
ity of  positive  revelation,  and  acknowledges  the  revela- 
tion furnished  in  Scripture  as  the  norm  of  religious 
truth.  Often,  however,  it  has  been  a  little  more  than 
a  certain  compromise  between  Reason  and  Revelation. 
The  Scripture  indeed  was  to  decide,  but  Reason  never- 
theless determined  in  various  ways  what  is  essential  in 
Scripture,  so  that  the  dogmatic  result  was  not  as  com- 
pletely distinct  from  that  of  Rationalism,  as  the  uncon- 
ditional recognition  of  the  supremacy  of  God's  Word 
would  have  made  it.  This  was  the  middle  tendency  of 
the  so-called  Supranaturalistic  Rationalism  and  Ra- 
tionalistic Supranaturalism,  which  may  be  likened  to 
chemical  compounds  which  have  the  same  parts  in  the 
same  proportion,  with  diversity  of  arrangement. 

Franz  Volkmar  Reinhard  {d.  1812)  exercised  the 
greatest  influence  as  a  preacher,  and  in  his  sermons  ^  he 
maintained  that  we  must  either  hold  entirely  to  Reason 
or  entirely  to  Scripture,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  co- 

I.  His  collected  sermons  comprise  35  volumes.  His  Confessions,  translated 
into  English,  in  which  he  presents  the  history  of  his  own  development  as  a 
preacher,  is  of  value. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  SUPRANATURALISM.  231 

ordinate  them,  for  to  be  logical  we  are  compelled  to 
subordinate  the  one  to  the  other.  Yet  even  in  the  case  of 
Reinhard,  the  relation  to  revelation  and  to  the  doctrine 
of  Scripture  was  too  external,  and  his  understanding 
of  the  Church  Doctrine  was  very  defective. 

George  Christian  Knapp  {d.  1825),  professor  of 
theology  at  Halle  (1777),  and  director  of  the  Francke 
Institution  (1785),  occupies  the  same  general  position 
as  Reinhard,  but  with  a  closer  approximation  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church.  His  chief  work,  ''Lectures  on 
Christian  Theology, ^^  was  translated  into  English  by 
Leonard  Woods,  ^  and  has  been  widely  used. 

August  Hahn  {d.  1863)  was  one  of  the  last  represent- 
atives of  the  old  Supranaturalism,  but  in  the  second 
edition  of  his  '' Lehrhuch  des  Christlichen  Glaubens^^ 
(1857),  the  influence  of  the  positive  Church  renewal 
of  theology  shows  itself. 

As  Reinhard  represented  Supranaturalism  in  the 
north,  GoTTLOB  Christian  Storr  {d.  1805),  professor 
of  theology  at  Tubingen  after  1777,  represented  it  in 
the  south  of  Germany.  His  chief  work,  ''  Doctrinae 
christians  pars  theoretical'  ^  shows  pre-eminently  the 
biblical  tendency  of  the  Wilrtemberg  or  Old  Tubingen 
School,  and  is  still  valuable  as  a  book  of  reference. 

JoHANN  Friedrich  Flatt  (d.  1812)  and  Friedrich 
Gottlieb  Suskind  (d.  1829),  the  immediate  followers 
of  Storr,  and  able  representatives  of  the  Old  Tubingen 
School,  sought  by  emphasizing  the  Bible  as  the  only 
source  of  the  knowledge  of  the  faith,  to  establish  and 
vindicate  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  by  a  moderate 
biblical  interpretation.  

2.  2  vols.  Andover,  1831-33. 

3.  Appeared  in  1793,  was  translated  into  German,  with  extensive  explana- 
tions and  additions,  by  jF/a^i,  in  1803,  and  this  last  was  translated  by  S.  S. 
Schmucker  of  Gettysburg,  under  the  title,  "  Biblical  Theology  of  Storr  and  Flati" 
(2  vols.  Andover,  1826.     Reprinted  in  England,  1845). 


232  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

This  tendency  ^was  represented  in  polemic  antithesis 
toward  the  philosophical  perversion  of  the  Christian 
faith  by  Steudel  {d.  1837),  professor  of  theology  at 
Tubingen  after  1815.  In  his  ^^  Lehrbegriff  der  evang. 
protest.  Kirche^'  (1834),  he  has  throughout  reference 
to  Schleiermacher  and  Hegel,  against  whose  views  he 
directs  his  polemic. 

JoHANN  Tobias  Beck  {d.  1878),  professor  of  theology 
at  Tubingen  after  1843,  returned  decisively  and  com- 
pletely to  the  standpoint  of  the  Old  Tubingen  School, 
and  is  the  ablest  modern  representative  of  the  Wiirtem- 
berg  or  Pietistic  School  of  Bengel,  Oetinger  and  Roos. 
His  views  are  presented  in  his  two  works,  ^' Einleit- 
ung  in  das  System  der  christ.  Lehre''  (1838,  2nd  ed., 
1870),  ''Die  christ.  Lehrwissenschaft ''  (1  Th.  die 
Logik  der  christ.  Lehre,  1841,  2nd  ed.,  1875).  His 
thought  and  style  are  heavy  and  dull,  but  his  matter 
is  of  great  intrinsic  value.  He  contends  that  theology 
shall  be  completely  separated  from  all  the  philosophy 
and  the  culture  of  the  time,  and  this  he  would  accom- 
plish by  binding  and  establishing  it  upon  the  Scriptures, 
but  he  does  this  in  a  way,  which  shows  that  he  has  a 
wrong  conception  with  regard  to  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  Church,  of  the  witnesses  of  the 
Church,  and  of  the  history  of  the  Church,  and  he  has 
so  completely  ignored  the  dogmatic  labors  of  others  as 
to  have  had  comparatively  limited  influence  upon  the 
development  of  theology. 

On  the  whole,  Supranaturalism,  though  opposed  to 
Rationalism  and  contending  for  much  peculiar  to  the 
old  faith  of  the  Church,  shared  also  in  the  infection  of 
the  time  and  abandoned  much.  It  did  not  build  up  so 
well  as  it  fought.  And  Pietism  in  its  noblest  form  is 
never  well  fitted  to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of  Revela- 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  233 

tion,— on  the  contrary,  in  its  farther  development  it 
generally  shows  a  tendency  towards  rationalism.  It 
takes  a  much  greater  interest  in  life  than  in  doctrine, 
and  is  indeed  adverse  to  the  scholastic  form  in  which 
the  orthodox  system  is  presented;  it  is  lukewarm  to 
the  idea  of  pure  doctrine  for  purity's  own  sake,  and  on 
account  of  this  indifferentism  to  the  extension  of  truth 
for  truth's  own  sake,  pietism  may  come  to  consider 
Scripture  simply  a  practical  means  to  a  practical  end, 
and  not  keep  the  source  of  all  truth  ever  flowing.  It  is 
unionistic  in  its  tendency,  and  is  so  firmly  determined 
to  make  religion,  first  and  foremost,  a  practical  issue, 
that  it  sometimes  shrinks  into  a  narrow  brotherhood 
of  the  faithful,  with  no  interest  for  the  Church  Univer- 
sal. In  fact,  even  at  its  best  estate,  Pietism  has  always 
lacked  certain  elements  of  the  highest  form  of  Lutheran 
Christianity,  and  is  simply  a  pure  Christianity  in  a 
feeble,  feverish  state  of  health,  lacking  force,  freshness, 
largeness,  and  positiveness  of  doctrine,  and  is  never 
able  to  cope  with  error  and  rationalism,  with  any  hope 
of  success. 

SECTION  XXI. 

THE    DOGMATICS    OF    THE    MOST    RECENT    TIME. 

The  Dogmatics  of  the  most  recent  times  is 
marked  by  depth  and  geniality  and  by  the 
struggle  between  the  mediating  and  the  strictly 
logical  and  churchly  tendencies. 

I.     The  Renewal  of  Religious  Faith. 

The  renewal  of  the  religious  faith  and  life,  as  it  was 
called  forth  by  the  earnestness  of  the  time,  in  the  first 
decennial  of  our  century,  in  Germany,  had  at  first  a 
merely  general  Christian  character.    Gradually,  how- 


234  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

ever,  under  the  influence  of  the  historic  feeling  which  is 
strongly  characteristic  of  our  era,  and  which  has  made 
itself  felt  in  every  department  of  scientific  life,  it  went 
back  to  the  life  of  faith  in  the  past,  in  order  to  con- 
nect itself  in  unity  with  it.  There  were  two  paths  on 
which  the  return  was  made  to  positive  theology  and 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church:  1)  that  of  philosophical 
thinking,  and  2)  that  of  emotion. 

2.     The  Philosophy  of  this  Period. 

Philosophy  had  advanced  from  the  criticism  of  Kant 
{d.  1804)  to  the  Idealism  of  Fichte  {d.  1814).  The 
unity  which  had  been  sought  analytically  by  Kant  was 
still  pursued  by  Fichte,  and  was  found  by  him  in  the 
Ego,  over  against  which  he  placed  the  Cosmos  or  ex- 
ternal world  as  the  Non-Ego,  and  which  in  its  abso- 
luteness is  connected  with  the  moral  advance  of  man- 
kind. This  moral  advance  on  which  he  dwelt  in  his 
system,  the  moral  order  of  the  Cosmos,  was  Fichte's 
God.  On  this  account  he  was  accused  of  Atheism,  and 
deposed  from  his  position  as  professor  of  philosophy  at 
Jena  (1799).  In  his  later  speculations  he  was  inclined 
more  to  a  mystical  Pantheism. 

Another  of  the  great  names  in  Philosophy,  of  this  era, 
is  that  of  SCHELLING  {d.  1854).  It  is  usual  to  divide 
his  intellectual  life  into  three  periods.  His  earlier  phil- 
osophy is  but  a  philosophic  expression  of  that  yearn- 
ing to  comprehend  the  absolute  as  it  appears  above  all 
in  Goethe's  Faust,  and  his  system  is  the  highest  glorifi- 
cation of  genius  as  celebrated  by  the  romantic  school. 
By  speculative  knowledge  alone,  Schelling  expects  a 
regeneration  of  esoteric  Christianity  and  the  procla- 
mation of  the  absolute  Gospel.  The  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  of  the  Incarnation,  and  similar  doctrines,  are 
regarded  as  symbolic  expressions  of  the  relation  of  the 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  235 

infinite  and  the  finite.  His  second  period  is  character- 
ized by  his  inclination  to  theosophic  speculation  and 
the  influence  of  Christian  mysticism,  especially  of  Jacob 
Bohme.  In  his  later  period  we  have  one  of  the  greatest 
endeavors  of  modern  philosophy  to  construct  the  sys- 
tem of  Christian  doctrine.  He  distinguishes  three  ages 
of  Church  History,  and  names  them  after  the  charac- 
ters and  names  of  the  three  Apostles:  1)  The  Petrine 
Period y  or  Catholicism;  2)  The  Pauline  Period,  or  Prot- 
estantism; 3)  The  Johannean  Period ,  or  the  ''Church 
of  the  future"  i. 

Closely  allied  to  Schelling  we  have  the  speculations 
of  Franz  von  Baader  {d.  1841),  who  has  been  called 
"the  greatest  speculative  theologian  of  modern  Cath- 
olicism," and  who  found  many  followers,  especially  in 
South  Germany. 

While  Schelling  was  laboring  in  quietude,  Hegel  {d. 
1831)  took  the  philosophical  chair  of  the  era  and  read 
to  the  world  a  ''collegium  logicum"in  grand  style. 
His  philosophy  swept  away  all  other  philosophies  as 
if  they  were  mere  dust,  and  before  he  died  it  began  to 
make  itself  felt  as  an  actual  power  both  in  State  and 
Church. 

The  adherents  of  the  School  of  Hegel,  after  their 
master's  death,  divided  into  two  parts,  of  which  one 
called  the  "right  wing"  (Erdmann,  Rosenkranz),  was 
on  the  side  of  Christianity,  and  the  other,  or  "left 
wing"  (Feuerbach,  Bruno  Bauer), took  ground  against 
Christianity. 

The  course  of  philosophy  reflected  itself  in  theology. 
With  no  theologian  of  this  era  was  this  more  the  case 
than  with  Karl  Daub  {d.  1836),  who  has  been  called 
"the  founder  of  Protestant  speculative  theology."   The 

I.     See  Heyder  in  Herzog. 


Z6b  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

rapid  development  of  the  German  philosophy  in  his  age 
compelled  him  to  change  his  views  repeatedly.  Origi- 
nally writing  as  a  Kantist  (1801), he  has  left  for  Fichte 
in  1805,  and  by  1806  has  already  reached  Schelling. 
For  several  years  he  is  under  the  influence  of  Schelling 
and  of  his  mystical  ideas  (1810),  but  by  1816  it  is  evi- 
dent that  he  is  steering  towards  Hegel,  and  in  the  Heg- 
elian philosophy  he  finally  anchors,  which  he  applies  to 
theology  (in  his  ''  Dogmatische  TheologiejetzigerZeit,^^ 
1833). 

A  similar  experience  is  that  of  Philipp  Konrad 
Marheineke  {d.  1846).  professor  of  theology  at  Ber- 
lin, after  1811.  His  "  Dogmatik,''  in  the  edition  of 
1819,  took  the  position  of  Schelling,  the  second  edi- 
tion of  1827,  that  of  Hegel,  and  the  same  position  is 
occupied  by  the  edition  published  in  1847,  by  two  of 
his  pupils,  Matthies  and  Yatke,  which  last  is  much 
clearer  than  his  earlier  work.  Marheineke  came  to  be 
recognized  as  the  leader  of  the  "right  wing"  of  the 
Hegelian  School,  which  affirmed  that  Hegelianism  can 
be  reconciled  with  positive  Christianity. 

The  Hegelian  philosophy  imagined  that  it  had  re- 
stored peace  between  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  and 
Philosophy.  But  the  deep  cleft  which  actually  sepa- 
rates them  was  uncovered  by  David  F.  Strauss  (d. 
1874),  who  brought  together  the  negative  elements 
of  Hegelianism,  in  order  to  show  the  invincible  conflict 
between  the  modern  consciousness,  that  view  of  the 
world  which  rested  upon  the  theory  of  Immanence,  on 
the  one  side,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  on  the 
other.  The  theory  of  a  God  lost  in  the  world,  which 
is  that  of  Immanence,  cannot  be  harmonized  with  the 
true  view  of  the  Church,  of  an  extra  mundane  and 
personal  Deity.    With  the  materials  of  Hegelianism, 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  237 

Strauss  endeavored  to  annihilate  the  Church  doctrine, 
in  what  he  calls  his  ''Christliche  Glaubenslehre,''  ^  which 
has  been  characterized  as  resembling  a  theology  in  the 
same  way  that  a  cemetery  resembles  a  city.  In  this 
book  he  tries  to  demonstrate  that  the  history  of  Christ- 
ian doctrine  is  the  history  of  its  dissolution,  and  that 
theology  can  have  no  other  future  than  that  of  transi- 
tion into  philosophy. 

Deeply  influenced  by  Strauss,  and  a  disciple  of  Hegel, 
Alois  Emanuel  Biedermann  {d.  1885),  professor  of 
theology  at  Zurich,  after  1850,  and  a  leading  ration, 
alist,  in  his  '^  Christliche  Dogmatik^^  ^  denies  the  histor- 
ical character  of  the  Gospels,  the  personality  of  God,  a 
personal  immortality  to  man,  and  yet  holds  that  love 
to  God  and  man  constitutes  the  essence  of  religion. 

3.     The  Theology  of  Emotion. 

During  these  movements  in  the  theological  world, 
the  emotional  theology  had  already  won  for  itself  an 
independent  sphere.  This  it  did  by  recognizing  religion 
as  a  thing  not  of  cognition  and  knowledge,  but  of  in- 
ternal life,  and  showed  its  place  in  the  immediate  con- 
sciousness, or  emotion.  Lessing  {d.  1781)  had  already 
appealed  to  the  internal  assurance  of  the  believer  as 
something  which  could  not  be  shaken  by  the  assaults 
upon  Scripture. 

Jacobi  {d.  1819)  had  represented  the  right  of  imme- 
diate emotion,  in  the  assurance  of  the  supersensuous, 
and  thus  had  won  a  foothold  for  a  mystical  Christian- 
ity. Jacobi  believed,  indeed,  that  there  was  an  irrecon- 
cilable conflict  between  thinking  and  feeling,  between 
the  head  and  the  heart,  and  declared  that  he  himself 
was  a  Christian  with  his  heart,  a  heathen  with  his 
head . 

2.  Two  volumes,  Tuebingen,  1840,  41. 

3.  Second  edition.  2  vbls.  Berlin,  1884,  85. 


238  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Attaching  himself  to  Jacobi,  and  employing  at  the 
same  time  Kant's  method  of  analysis,  Fries  {d.  1843) 
pointed  out  in  reason  the  immediate  organ  of  the  di- 
vine, whose  internal  revelation  was  only  vivified  or 
quickened  by  all  further  revelation. 

The  influence  of  this  philosophy  is  shown  by  De 
Wette  {d.  1849).  In  his  work  ''Ueber  Religion  und 
Theologie,"  *  he  develops  the  fundamental  aspects  of 
his  philosophy,  to  which  he  faithfully  adhered  through 
life.  In  his  ''  Bibl.  Dogmatik  "  (1813  and  1831 )  he  pre- 
sents the  religious  ideas  of  Scripture  (Biblical  Theolo- 
ogy),  and  in  his  ''Kirchl.  Dogm."  (1816  and  1840),  he 
was  more  in  affinity  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  but  his  own  system,  which  is  more  popular 
and  positive,  and  at  the  same  time  showing  more  the 
influence  of  Schleiermacher,  he  presents  in  his  ^' Wesen 
des  Glaubens"  (1846). 

This  tendency  became  an  epoch-making  power  under 
the  influence  of  Friedrich  Schleiermacher  ^  (cf.l834), 
professor  of  theology  at  Berlin,  after  1810.  In  order 
to  preserve  theology  from  all  false  blending  with  phil- 
osophy, he  endeavored  to  discover  the  proper  sphere  of 
religion  in  man.  This  he  found  in  immediate  conscious- 
ness, or  in  feeUng,  and  the  feeling  in  which  he  found  it 
was  that  of  absolute  dependence.  He  therefore  con- 
sidered that  theology  had  nothing  to  do  with  specula- 
tion, any  more  than  religion  has  to  do  with  think- 
ing, and  he  maintained  that  philosophy  and  theology 
should  be  kept  apart,  although  his  own  theology  is 
penetrated  to  the  core  by  his  philosophy. 

4.  Berlin,  1815      New  edition,  1821. 

5.  Compare  Jonas  and  Dilthey:  Aus  Schleiermacher' s  Leben,  in  Brie/en.  4 
vols.  Berlin,  1858-61.  Translated  in  part  into  English :  The  Life  0/  Schleier- 
macher. 2  volg.  London,  i860;  W.  Gass:  in  Herzog\  Ueberweg:  History  of  Phil- 
osophy.   Vol.  2,  pp.  244-254. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  239 

As  a  theologian  he  ranks  among  the  greatest  of  all 
ages.  The  effect  of  his  early  training  and  the  type  of 
Moravian  Christianity  can  be  clearly  traced  in  his  dog- 
matic writings.  Though  belonging  to  the  Reformed 
Church,  he  labored  for  its  union  with  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  this  Syncretism  developed  into  rational- 
ism, while  his  pietism  developed  into  supranaturalism, 
and  yet  he  cannot  be  classed  with  the  rationalists,  nor 
with  the  supranaturalists,  nor  with  the  mystics,  but 
combined  in  himself  elements  from  all. 

His  greatest  work  ^^  Der  christliche  Glaube^^  has  been 
called  *'a  monument  of  religious  enthusiasm  and  phil- 
osophical reasoning  which  has  no  equal  in  the  theologi- 
cal literature  after  Calvin's  Institutiones.'^  The  touch- 
stone on  which  a  dogma  is  to  be  tried  is  not  the  direct 
teaching  of  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  demonstration  of 
proofs  drawn  from  reason,  but  our  feelings.  He  rejected 
the  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  and  of  the  Person 
of  Christ,  of  the  Devil  and  the  fall  of  the  angels,  of  in- 
spiration and  the  canon,  and  taught  an  ultimate  resto- 
ration,— in  fact,  his  errors  are  as  numerous  as  those  of 
Origen.  ''Yet  he  ever  held  fast  to  Christ  as  the  greatest 
fact  in  history,  as  the  one  only  sinless  and  perfect  man 
in  whom  the  Divinity  dwelt  in  its  fulness,  and  from 
whom  saving  influences  emanate  from  generation  to 
generation,  and  from  race  to  race.  In  this  central  idea 
lies  Schleiermacher's  chief  merit  in  theology,  and  his 
salutary  influence.  He  modestly  declined  the  honor  of 
being  the  founder  of  a  school ;  and  his  best  pupils,  as 
Neander,  Twesten,  Nitzsch,  Lucke,  Bleek,  Ullmann,  Ju- 
lius Miiller,  went  far  beyond  him  in  the  direction  of  a 
positive  evangelical  creed "^.' 

The  impulse  which  Schleiermacher  gave  to  the  relig- 

6,    See  Article  in  Schaff-Herzog. 


240         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

ious  consciousness  and  also  to  the  scientific  method  of 
Dogmatics,  will  continue  to  operate,  at  least  in  Ger- 
many, for  a  long  time.  Two  distinguished  theologians 
have  attached  themselves  most  closely  to  Schleier- 
macher.  The  first  of  these  was  K.  Immanuel  Nitzsch 
(J.  1868),  professor  of  theology  at  Bonn  (1822-47), 
and  at  Berlin  (1847-68),  who  was  a  theologian  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  word.  In  his  ''System  of  Christian 
Doctrine"  ^  he  combines  Dogmatics  and  Ethics?  and  rests 
both  upon  the  Scripture,  as  the  restoration  of  religious 
consciousness,  as  it  reveals  itself  in  the  Apostolic  an- 
nouncement in  its  original  form  for  all  ages.  He  thus 
substituted  for  Schleiermacher's  "Christian  conscious- 
ness," the  Word  of  God  itself. 

The  second  theologian,  August  Christian  Twesten 
(d.  1876),  professor  of  theology  at  Berlin,  after  1834, 
was  also  a  pupil  of  Schleiermacher.  His  lectures  on 
Dogmatics  ^  sltq  very  thorough  but  were  never  com- 
pleted, and  he  forms  a  transition  from  the  emotional 
theology  to  a  stricter  Lutheran  orthodoxy.  He  delin- 
eates dogmatics  as  a  justification  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church,  a  doctrine  which  the  dogmatician  is  to  repro- 
duce from  his  inner  consciousness  of  faith. 

4.     The  Dogmatics  of  the  Mediating  Theology. 

This  theology  attempts  to  harmonize  the  opposition 
of  the  rationalistic  and  the  positive,  of  the  philosophi- 
cal and  emotional  tendency.  This  it  does  in  combina- 
tions of  divers  kinds,  and  hence  is  represented  by  a 
series  of  theologians  who  approximate  on  the  one  side 
to  Rationalism,  an  on  the  other  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church. 

7.  Published  in  1829.  Sixth  edition,  1853.  Fifth  edition  translated  into 
English.    Edinburgh,  1849. 

8.  Vorlesuhgen  ueber  die  Dogin.  der  evang.  luther.  Kirche.  2  vols.  Ham- 
burg. (Vol.  I.  Introd,  and  Critical  Part.  1826.  4th  edition.  1838.  Vol.  2.  Theol- 
ogy and  Angelology.  1838). 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  241 

To  the  former  school  belongs  Karl  August  Hase, 
since  1830  professor  of  theology  at  Jena,  who  indeed 
gave  the  death-blow  to  vulgar  rationalism,  yet  is  the 
dogmatic  representative  of  the  rationalistic  principle. 
Hase  unites  the  historic  feeling  of  the  recent  time  with 
the  speculative  enthusiasm  of  modem  philosophy  and  a 
tendency  to  the  ideal.  His  '' Evang.  Dogmatic''  ^  was 
written  for  theologians,  but  his  ''  Gnosis'' '^^  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  educated  laity.  According  to  him  re- 
ligion is  the  attraction  of  Love  to  the  Infinite,  only 
approximately  attained  by  other  men,  but  reached 
and  presented  in  the  supremest  degree  in  the  man  Jesus, 
thus  making  him  the  centre  of  a  fellowship  of  all  noble 
spirits  who  arc  striving  after  unity  with  the  Infinite, 
i.  e.,  with  God.  In  its  results  his  theology  differs  very 
little  from  that  of  Rationalism. 

Daniel  Schenkel  (d.  1885),  professor  of  theology 
at  Heidelberg,  after  1851,  at  first  almost  orthodox,  be- 
came the  leader  of  the  Protestanverein.  In  his  dogmat- 
ics, the  peculiar  character  of  which  is  expressed  in  its 
title,  '^  Die  christliche  Dogmatik  vom  Standpunkte  des 
Gewissens"  (2  vols.  1858-59), he  clings  closely  to  Schlei- 
ermacher. 

Alexander  Schweizer,  professor  of  theology  at 
Zurich,  since  1835,  a  pupil  of  Schleiermacher,  in  his 
^^  Glauhens-lehre  der  evangelische  reformirten  Kircbe" 
(2  vols,  1844-47)  combines  Schleiermacher's  absolute 
feeling  of  dependence  with  the  Reformed  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination. In  his  later  works  he  stands  entirely  upon 
the  ground  of  the  so-called  ''modern  consciousness." 

9.  Leipsic,  1826.  Sixtk  edition,  1870,  To  be  distinguished  from  his  Hutterus 
Redivivus,  oder  Dogmatik  der  evang.  luth.  Kirche.  1829.  Twelfth  edition.  1883. 
In  this  last  work  he  attempts  to  present  the  doctrine  of  the  Lutheran  Church  as 
Hutter  would  have  represented  it,  if  living. 

10.  Three  vols.  1827-29.  Second  edition,  1869-70. 


242        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Richard  Rothe  (d.  1867),  professor  of  theology  at 
Heidelberg  after  1839,  with  the  exception  of  a  short 
period  (1849-54),  during  which  he  lectured  at  Bonn, 
presents  his  entire  speculative  theological  system  in  his 
^'  Theologiscbe  Bthik,'^'^^  which  has  been  called  *'the 
greatest  work  of  German  speculative  theology  next  to 
Schleiermacher's  Der  Christliche  Glaube.''  He  is  char- 
acterized by  a  union  peculiar  to  himself  of  the  religious 
consciousness  of  Schleiermacher,  and  of  the  speculations 
and  method  of  Hegel.  These  he  combines  so  as  to  pre- 
sent a  complete  theosophic  view  of  the  whole.  Next  in 
importance  to  his  Ethik  is  his  Zur  Dogmatik,  1863,  and 
his  lectures  on  Dogmatik,  imperfectly  edited  from  his 
manuscripts  by  Schenkel  (2  vols.  Heidelberg,  1870). 

JoHANN  Peter  Lange  (d.  1884),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Bonn  after  1854,  one  of  the  most  original  and 
fertile  theological  authors  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
this  century,  has  attempted  to  place  dogmatics  in  con- 
nection with  the  entire  life  of  the  spirit  and  to  harmo- 
nize with  each  other  the  manifold  oppositions  of  the 
supernatural  and  the  natural  life.  This  he  has  done  in 
his  brilliant  work  ^^Christliche  Dogmatik  (Heidelberg), 
which  he  published  in  three  parts  (1  Philosophical  Dog- 
matics, 1849;  2.  Positive  Dogmatics,  1849;  3.  Applied 
Dogmatics,  1852).  His  theology  is  biblical  and  evan- 
gelical, but  he  is  best  known  as  the  editor  of  Lange's 
Commentary,  and  by  his  Life  of  Christ  (6  vols). 

Karl  Theodor  Albert  Liebner  {d.  1871),  succes- 
sively professor  of  theology  at  Goettingen,  Kiel,  and 
Leipsic,  and  court-preacher  at  Dresden  (1855),  attemped 
to  enrich  dogmatics  with  purely  speculative  elements, 
and  to  shape  it  into  a  Christology,  in  his  work  ^*Die 
christl.  Dogmatik  aus  dem  christologischen  Prinzip  dar- 

II.    3  vols.  1845-48.  Second  edition,  thoroughly  revised,  in  5  vols.  1867-72. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  243 

gestellV,  (1849).  He  maintains  that  Dogmatics  must  go 
forth  from  the  idea  of  the  God-man,  as  the  synthesis, 
by  means  of  the  analysis  of  the  actual  unity  of  the 
divine  and  human  given  therein,  and  he  thus  unfolds 
what  he  calls  ''the  system  of  all  systems,"  ''a  faithful 
scientific  photograph  of  the  full  unabridged  Christian- 
ity, as  our  fathers  held  it." 

The  ripest  fruit  of  this  whole  development,  with  ref- 
erence at  the  same  time  to  the  most  recent  contribu- 
tions to  dogmatics,  is  given  by  Isaac  August  Dor- 
NER  (d.  1884),  professor  of  theology  at  Kiel  (1839), 
Koenigsberg  (1843),  Bonn  (1847),  Goettingen  (1853), 
and  finally  at  Berlin  (1862),  in  his  ''System  der  Christ- 
lichen  Glaubenslehre'^  ^^ .  As  one  of  the  profoundest 
and  most  learned  theologians  of  this  century,  he  ranks 
with  Schleiermacher,  Neander,  Nitzsch,  Julius  Mueller, 
and  Richard  Rothe.  With  a  positive  faith  and  an  his- 
torical spirit  he  sought  to  unite  the  theology  of  Schlei- 
ermacher and  the  philosophy  of  Hegel.  His  theology  is 
pre-eminently  christological. 

Johannes  Heinrich  Ebrard  (born  1818),  Reformed, 
in  his  ''  Christliche  Dogmatik,^'  i-^  presented  without 
philosophical  speculation,  in  essentials  retaining  the 
Church  orthodoxy,  the  Reformed  Dogmatics  as  an  ex- 
pression of  the  Christian  consciousness  of  salvation, 
but  he  excludes  the  doctrine  of  absolute  Predestination. 

Robert  Benjamin  Kuebel,  professor  of  theology  at 
Tuebingen,  since  1879,  in  his  **  Christliche  Lehrsystem  " 
(1873),  represents  the  biblical  school  of  Wuertemberg. 

LuDWiG  Friedrich  Schoeberlein  {d.  1881),  pro- 
fessor of  theology  at  Goettingen  after  1855,  in  his 
^'  Grundlehren  des  Heils^'  (1848),  ''Die  Geheimnisse  des 

12      2  vols.  Berlin,  1879-80.    Second  edition.  18.^6.     Translated  inlo  English 
with  the  title  "  A  System  of  Christian  Doctrine."     4  vols.  Edinburgh,  1880-82. 
13.     2  vols.  1851.    Second  edition,  1862. 


244        INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Glaubens''  (1872),  and  in  his  last  work  ''Bas  Prinzip 
und  System  der  Dogmatif  (1881),  shows  a  strong 
mystical  tendency. 

Heinrich  Johann  Matthias  Voigt,  since  1864,  pro- 
fessor of  theology  at  Koenigsberg,  in  his  Fundamental 
Dogmatik  (Gotha,  1874),  has  given  us  a  careful  and  full 
discussion  of  the  fundamental  questions  that  arise  in 
dogmatics. 

Albrecht  Ritschl,  since  1864,  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Goettingen,  is  a  determined  opponent  of  Protes- 
tant Scholasticism,  and  is  the  only  liYing  theologian 
who  has  founded  a  school  of  theology.  His  view  of  jus- 
tification and  atonement,  of  reconciliation  and  grace, 
of  sin  and  law,  are  so  peculiar,  that  he  reconstructs  the 
very  scheme  of  redemption.  His  views  are  especially 
seen  in  his  ''Die  christliche  Lehre  von  der  Rechtfertigung 
und  Versoehnung,''^^  a  work  which  is  attracting  much 
attention.  He  describes  his  theological  standpoint  as 
follows :  *^  In  the  strictest  recognition  of  the  revelation 
of  God  through  Christ ;  most  accurate  use  of  the  Holy 
Scripture  as  the  foundation  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Christian  religion ;  view  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  ground 
of  knowledge  for  all  parts  of  the  theological  system; 
in  accord  with  the  original  documents  of  the  Lutheran 
Reformation  respecting  those  peculiarities  which  differ- 
entiate its  type  of  doctrine  from  that  of  the  Middle 
Ages." 

Ritschl  has  a  large  following  among  the  younger 
professors  of  theology.  Kaftan  (born  1848),  Dorner's 
successor  in  Berlin,  is  under  his  influence,  so  is  Herr- 
mann (born  1846),  professor  of  theology  at  Marburg, 
the  theological  faculty  at  Giessen  hold  to  his  views,  and 
Hermann  Schultz  (born  1836)  of  Goettingen  and  Lip- 

14.  3  vols.  1870-74.  Second  edition,  1882-83.  The  first  volume  has  been 
translated  into  English. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  245 

sius  of  Jena  defend  the  essential  positions  of  his  theol- 
ogy. Against  him  are  arrayed  such  men  as  Frank,  pro- 
fessor in  Erlangen,  and  Luthardt,  Fricke  and  Best- 
mann,  of  Leipsic. 

Richard  Adelbert  Lipsius  (born  1830),  professor 
of  theology  at  Jena,  since  1870,  is  a  follower  of  Kant 
in  philosophy,  and  of  Schleiermacher  in  theology.  In 
his  ^^  Lehrbuch  der  evang.  prot.  Dogmatik,^^  ^^  and  in 
his  '^ Dogmatische  Beitraege^^  (1878),  he  seeks  to  build 
up  a  system  of  dogmatics  founded  upon  the  religious 
experience  of  the  Christian  communion  and  of  the  in- 
dividual believer.  In  fact,  he  bases  the  evidence  of  all 
Christian  and  religious  truth  on  experience. 

5,     Confessional  Dogmatics. 

a)  Lutheran. 

The  confessional  dogmatics  shaped  itself  by  the  side 
of  the  theology  of  mediation,  exhibiting  more  and  more 
the  tendency  to  return  to  that  doctrine  of  the  Church 
which  is  embodied  in  her  great  Confessions  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  This  tendencj'  shows  itself  in  two 
classes  of  -works:  1)  in  those  which  outline  the  confes- 
sional doctrines  historically,  and  2)  in  those  which  are 
an  independent  reproduction  of  that  doctrine. 

Some  of  the  best  books  of  the  first  class  come  from 
the  hand  of  men  who  were  too  much  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  perverted  thinking  of  the  age  to  embrace 
the  doctrine  they  so  ably  presented. 

Among  the  works  of  this  class  may  be  mentioned 
the  ''Hutterus  Redivivus''  of  Karl  Hase  (12th  ed. 
1883),  which  is  a  model  of  literary  skill.  By  condens- 
ing the  matter,  and  using  abridgments  of  frequently 
recurring  words,  he  has  condensed  into  a  narrow  space 
a  vast  fund  of  information.    He  gave  to  it  the  name 

15.     Braunschweig,  1876.    Second  edition,  1879. 


246  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

of  the  old  dogmatician  Hutter,  whose  fidelity  to  the 
Confessions  and  whose  ability  as  a  theologian  has  pre- 
served his  memory  in  the  Church,  and  his  object  was  to 
present  the  System  of  Dogmatics,  as  Hutter  might  have 
been  supposed  to  present  it,  were  he  actually  {redivivus) 
restored  to  life. 

The  well  known  work  of  Heinrich  Schmid  ^  ^  differs 
from  that  of  Hase,  in  that  it  is  confined  to  the  older 
Dogmaticians,  and  from  these  its  citations  are  much 
fuller. 

Under  the  second  class  of  works  on  confessional  dog- 
matics, in  which  the  writers  have  given  to  us  not  the 
history  of  the  dogmatic  thinking  of  others,  but  their 
own  independent  reproduction  of  Christian  doctrine, 
we  have  contributions  from  some  of  the  profoundest 
and  most  brilliant  scholars  of  the  age. 

The  ''Dogmatics''  of  Hans  Lassen  Martensen  {d. 
1884),  the  most  eminent  Danish  theologian  of  this  cen- 
tury, has  been  favorably  received.  Luthardt  says  of 
it  ''that  it  exhibits  spirit  and  versability,  and  is  sug- 
gestive, rich  in  apologetic  and  speculative  elements." 
The  work  is  indubitably  profound,  clear  in  the  main 
and  concise.  But  while  we  place  it  among  the  works 
of  confessional  dogmatics,  it  is  far  from  being  a  guide, 
which  can  be  followed  implicitly.  He  professes  to  hold 
to  the  type  of  doctrine  as  confessed  by  the  Symbolical 
Books  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  especially  to  the  Augs- 
burg Confession,  and  aims  at  reproducing  the  doctrine 
ot  Scripture  and  the  Church  scientifically  from  the 
depths  of  a  consciousness,  which  is  regenerated  and 
filled  with  the  idea  of  the  Christian  truth,  nevertheless 
his  Lutheran  theology  has  been  greatly  influenced  by 

i6.  The  fifth  German  edition  translated  into  English  under  the  title  of  -'The 
Doctrinal  Theology  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,"  Philadelphia,  1876. 
The  sixth  German  edition  appeared  in  1876. 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  247 

the  philosophy  of  Hegel  and  the  theosophic  views  of 
Franz  Baader. 

The  next  great  name  among  the  Lutheran  Confes- 
sional Dogmaticians  is  that  of  Ernest  Sartorius  (d. 
1859),  who  in  addition  to  various  minor  publications 
on  dogmatics,  has  presented  his  system  most  fully  in 
his  treatise  on  ''  The  Doctrine  of  Divine  Love  "  ^ '''. 

Gottfried  Thomasius  (d,  1875),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy at  Erlangen,  after  1842,  in  his  ''Christi  Person  und 
Werk/^  1^  has  made  the  Person  of  Christ  the  centre  of 
his  system,  and  on  every  page  gives  evidence  of  his 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  doctrines. 
It  is  in  this  work  that  he  presents  the  modern  *'Keno- 
tic"  theory  in  its  developed  form,  and  claims  that  this 
view  is  the  legitimate  outcome  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples on  which  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  Christ's  per- 
son is  based. 

One  of  the  safest  and  best  guides  among  the  larger 
systems  of  recent  date  is  that  of  Friedrich  Adolf 
Philippic 9  {d.  1882),  professor  of  theology  at  Dorpat 
(1841),  and  at  Rostock  after  1852.  He  is  the  best 
modern  representative  of  Lutheran  orthodoxy. 

Karl  Friedrich  August  Kahnis,  professor  of  the- 
ology at  Leipsic  (1850-86),  one  of  the  ablest  theolo- 
gians of  this  century,  in  his  ''Luth.  Dogm.  bistor.  genet. 
dargestellV^  ^^  abandons  the  doctrine  of  the  supreme 
divinity  of  Christ,  and  gives  up  the  true  doctrine  of  the 
Sacramental  Presence,  and  by  his  looseness  in  regard 
to  the  doctrine  of  Inspiration,  makes  his  claim  to  a 
place  among  the  Confessional  Dogmaticians  more  than 
doubtful. 

17.  Translated  into  English,  from  the  last  German  edition.  Edinburgh,  1884. 

18.  Second  edition.  3  vols.  Eriangen,  1856-63, 

19.  See  note  8,  p.  15.    For  outline  of  his  system  see/.  121. 

20.  Second  edition.  2  vols.  Lepsic.  1874-75. 


248         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Not  the  least  among  the  confessional  dogmaticians 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  is  Fkanz  Hermann  Reinhold 
Frank,  professor  of  theology  at  Erlangen  since  1858. 
His  more  important  works  are  ''Die  Theologi^  der  Con- 
cordienformel "  (4  vols.  Erlangen,  1858-65),  ''System 
der  Christ.  Gewissheit"  (2  vols.  Second  edition;  1.  1884; 
2.  1881),  and  "System  der  christ.  Sittlichkeit "  (vol.  1. 
1884).  In  his  later  writings  he  is  noted  for  his  pro- 
found reasoning  and  for  the  stress  he  lays  upon  the 
subjective  element  in  faith. 

He  who  watches  the  horizon  of  German  Theology, 
will  always  discover  some  new  star  of  great  brilliancy, 
I'ust  coming  into  range  above  it.  One  of  the  latest  of 
distinguished  living  theologians  is  Christoph  Ernst 
LuTHARDT,  since  1856  professor  of  theology  at  Leipsic, 
and  renowned  as  a  university  lecturer  and  pulpit  ora- 
tor. His  ''Compendium  der  Dogmatif  had  already 
reached  the  seventh  edition  in  1886. 

The  work  is  not  strictly  speaking  the  development 
of  a  system,  but  rather  a  compendious  presentation  of 
carefully  selected  material.  It  is  by  far  the  best  manua] 
of  the  Dogmatics  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 
we  possess.  It  gives  the  most  important  recent  litera- 
ture under  each  head,  and  because  of  its  comprehensive- 
ness, brevity,  and  succintness,  we  have  taken  it  as  a 
basis  of  our  own  presentation,  and  would  especially 
recommend  it  to  students  ^  ^ . 

Of  the  confessional  dogmaticians  of  Sweden  we 
would  especially  mention  the  names  of  Carl  Olof 
BjoRLiNG  (d.  1884),  bishop  of  Westerns,  after  1866. 
The  second  edition  of  his  ''Den  Christeliga  Dogma- 
tiken^^-^  (1866),  adheres  more  closely  to  the  teaching 

21.  The  fifth  German  edition  has  been  translated  into  Swedish,  Stockholm, 
1879.    For  21  complete  synopsis  of  his  system  see  pp.  iao-131. 

22.  See  noie  11,  /.  15,  for  outline  of  his  system. 


THE  D0G51ATICS  OF   THE  MOST  EECEN  T  TIME.  24{\ 

of  the   Confessions   of  our  Church  than  his  fi  rst  edi- 
tion. 

An  important  contribution  to  dogmatics,  likewise, 
is  the  ''  Grunddragen  af  den  Christeliga  TroslMran''  by 
SvEN  Libert  Bring ^s  (born  1826),  professor  of  theol- 
ogy, at  Lund. 

In  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  there 
are  two  theologians  of  the  strict  confessional  tendency 
who  have  left  their  dogmatic  impress  upon  the  Church. 

Charles  Porterfield  Krauth  {d.  1883), professor 
of  theology  in  the  Lutheran  Seminary  at  Philadelphia, 
after  1864,  has  been  the  leader  in  the  establishment  of 
the  General  Council  (1867),  and  has  given  shape  to 
its  strict  confessional  basis  =^*.  In  his  most  important 
work,  "  The  Conservative  Reformation  and  its  Theol- 
ogy'' (Philadelphia,  1871)  he  has  given  evidence  of  the 
strictest  adherence  to  the  doctrines  of  our  Church  as 
confessed  in  her  Symbolical  Books. 

Carl  Ferdinand  Wilhelm  Walther  {d.  1887), 
professor  of  theology  at  St.  Louis,  after  1849,  the 
founder  and  leader  of  the  Synod  of  Missouri  (Synodi- 
cal  Conference),  "■'  is  bj^  pre-eminence  the  representative 
of  Lutheran  Orthodoxy,  a  Calovius  redivivus,  equally 
zealous  in  controversy  and  positive  in  polemics.  In  the 
'^Predestinarian  Controversy"  his  zeal,  and  that  of  his 
followers,  went  so  far,  as  to  accuse  our  most  conserva- 
tive theologians,  such  as  Philippi,  Luthardt,  Vilmar, 
and  others,  of  Semi-pelagianism,  Synergism,  and  Ra- 
tionalism. Although  not  the  author  of  any  system  of 
dogmatics,  he  has  written  on  almost  all  its  topics,  and 
has  edited  with  great  ability  Baier's  Compend,  in  three 
volumes,  a  work  which  seems  to  have  been  his  greatest 

23.  See  fwte  12,  p.  16,  for  outline  of  his  system. 

24.  See  notes  i,  2,  3,  ox\.  pp.  1 16-1 18. 

25.  See  note  1.  p,  ti6. 


250         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

favorite  among  the  dogmaticians  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

b)  Reformed. 

Heinrich  Ludwig  Julius  Heppe  (d.  1879), professor 
of  theology  at  Marburg,  after  1864,  from  the  position 
of  Reformed  unionism,  has  given  us  several  valuable 
works  of  a  historical  character.  The  principal  are  '^Die 
Dogmatik  des  Protestantismus  im  16  Jahrhundert'^  (3 
vols.  Gotha,  1857),  and  '^  Die  Dog.  der  evang.  reformir- 
ten  Kirche''  (Elberfeld,  1860) .  This  last  is  nearly  iden- 
tical in  plan  with  the  work  of  Heinrich  Schmid,  de- 
scribed above. 

Jan  Jakob  van  Oosterzee  {d.  1882),  professor  of 
theology  at  Utrecht,  after  1862,  ^was  the  recognized 
leader  of  the  evangelical  movement  in  Holland.  His 
^^  Christian  Dogmatics  ^^  has  been  translated  into  En- 
glish from  the  Dutch  (London  and  New  York,  1874), 
and  his  American  editors  -  ^  regard  it,  among  the  numer- 
ous foreign  systems  of  Theology,  *'as  being  upon  the 
whole  the  work  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of  English 
and  American  students,  and  nearer,  perhaps,  to  the 
prevailing  type  of  Anglo-American  Theology  than  any 
similar  work  produced  of  late  years  on  the  continent 
of  Europe."  This  "prevailing  type  of  Anglo-American 
Theology  "  here  referred  to,  is  of  course.  Reformed  in  its 
tendency,  and  not  Lutheran. 

c)  Church  of  England. 

A  standard  work  of  the  dogmatic  theology  of  the 
Church  of  England  is  the  well-known  ^^  Exposition  oi 
the  X X X I X  Articles''  (12th  ed.  1882;  Amer.  ed.  by 
Bishop  Williams  of  Connecticut,  1865)  by  Edward 
Harold  Browne,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  since  1873. 

26.     Henry  B.  Smith  and  Philip  Schaff, 


THE  DOGMATICS  OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  TIME.  251 

The  English  Church  has  produced  no  great  systema- 
tic theologian,  in  the  full  meaning  of  the  term. 

d)  Congregational. 

Ralph  Wardlaw  {d.  1823),  professor  of  theology 
at  Glasgow,  after  1811,  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the 
prominent  leaders  of  the  Congregational  churches  in 
Scotland.  His  ''System  of  Theology''  (3  vols.  1856- 
57)  was  published  after  his  death. 

In  the  history  of  Congregationalism  in  the  United 
States,  pre-eminent  among  the  theologians  of  this  cen- 
tury, are  the  names  of  Samuel  Hopkins  {d.  1803), 
whose  system  had  its  root  in  the  writings  of  the  elder 
Jonathan  Edwards  (d.  1758),  and  was  essentially  Cal- 
vinistic,  but  distinguished  as  ''Hopkinsianism,"  Na- 
THANAEL  Emmons  {d.  1840)  wlio  developed  the  system 
of  Hopkins  into  what  is  characterized  as  "Emmonism," 
Nathaniel  William  Taylor  {d.  1858),  the  founder  of 
''The  New-Haven  Theology,"  the  elder  Leonard  Woods 
{d.  1854),  ''the  judicious  divine  of  the  later  New-En- 
gland theology,"  and  Charles  G.  Finney  {d.  at  Ober- 
lin,  1875). 

e)  Presbyterian. 

Charles  Hodge  {d.  1878),  professor  of  theology  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  after  1822,  achieved  distinction 
in  all  departments  of  theology,  and  exerted  the  widest 
influence  as  a  teacher,  training  more  than  a  thousand 
ministers.  His  ''Systematic  Theology''  (3  vols.  1871- 
73)  has  been  called  "the  greatest  system  of  dogmatics 
in  the  English  language." 

The  "Outlines  of  Theology"  (revised  edition,  1878) 
by  Archibald  Alexander  Hodge  {d.  1887),  son  of  the 
preceding,  professor  of  theology  at  Princeton,  after 
1878,  is  an  excellent  compend  of  Reformed  Theology, 
3,nd  ivS  widely  used  as  a  text-book. 


252         INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

/)  Baptist. 

Augustus  Hopkins  Strong,  professor  of  theology  at 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  since  1872,  in  his  ''Systematic  Theol- 
ogy^'' (1886),  has  given  us  a  compendium  and  common- 
place-book for  theological  students.  The  work  gives 
evidence  of  wide  reading  and  a  full  mastery  of  the 
science  of  dogmatics. 

g)  Methodist. 

Richard  Watson  {d.  1833,  in  London),  in  his  ''  The- 
ological Institutes''  (2  vols.  Eighth  edition,  1850)  sys- 
tematized and  expounded  the  theology  of  John  Wesley 
{d.  1791^,  and  adopts  a  modified  Arminian  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Bible.    This  is  the  text-book  of  Methodism. 

William  Burt  Pope,  professor  of  theology  at  Man- 
chester, England,  since  1867,  in  his  ''Compendium  of 
Christian   Theology''  (3  vols.  1875-76 \  follows  Wat- 
son's improved  Arminianism. 

Miner  Raymond,  professor  of  theology  at  Evanston, 
111.,  since  1864,  in  his  ''Systematic  Theology"  (3  vols. 
1877-79  ',  holds  to  more  radical  Arminianism. 

h)  Roman  Catholic. 

Giovanni  Perrone  (d.  1876),  professor  of  theology 
after  1816,  has  exerted  the  widest  influence  in  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church.  His  "  Praelectiones  theologi- 
cae"  appears  in  two  forms,  unabridged  (in  9  vols.  31st 
ed.  1865),  and  abridged  (2  vols.  36th  ed.  1881),  trans- 
lated into  various  languages.  It  is  most  widely  used 
by  the  students  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
comes  up  most  fully  to  the  standard  of  orthodoxy  as 
set  by  the  Church. 

Hugo  Hurter,  professor  of  theology  at  Innsbruck, 
since  1858,  has  also  written  a  work  on  dogmatics 
which  has  reached  a  wide  circulation.  His  "  Theolo- 
giae  dogmaticae  compendium  "  (3  vols.  1876),  had 
already  i^eached  a  fifth  edition  in  1885, 


INDEX, 


Abelard,  17,  158, 119 
Albertus  Magnus,  162 
Alexander  of  Hales,  162 
Alexandria,  school  of,  183-137 ; 

new  school  of,  137-141 
Allegorical  sense  of  Scripture,  85 
Alsted,  199 
Ammon,  229 
Amyraldism,  209,  210 
Amyraut,  209 
Analogy   of   faith,    an   inspired 

means  of  interpretation,  84-87 
Ancient  Church,  dogmatics  of, 

I3i-154 
Andreae,  211 

Anselm  of  Canterbury.  156, 157 
Antecedent  articles  of  faith,  110 
Anthropologia,  analysis  of  topics 

discussed  under,  126,  127 
Antilegomena,  79 
Anton,  Paul,  213 
Apocryphal   Books,  of  O.  T.,  76, 

77;  of  N.  T.,  81 
Apologists,  theology  of,  132, 133 
Apology  of  Augsburg  Confession, 

history  of  origin  of,  96,  97 
Apostles'  Creed,  history  of  origin 

of,  89  note 
Apostolical  Fathers,  theology  of, 

132,  133 
Aquinas,  163-165 
Archetypal  theology,  17, 18 
Aretius,  183 
Aristotle,  25,  155.  162 
Articles  of  faith,  109-115;  pure  and 

mixed,  109;   fundamental  and 

non-fundamental,  109-115 
Assurance  of  salvation,  70,  71 
Athanasian  Creed,  history  of  ori- 
gin of,  91  note 
Athanasius.  theology  of,  137,  138 
Atheism,  44 


Augsburg  Confession,  history  of 
origin  of,  92  noie\  composition 
of,  93, 94;  contents  of,  95,  96 

Augustine,  148-151 

Baader,  235 

Bacon,  Roger,  167 

Bahrdt,  225 

Baier,  on  natural  theology,  45; 
theology  of,   194,  195 

Baptists,  recent  dogmatician  of, 
252 

Basil,  the  Great,  139, 140 

Baumgarten,  S.  J.,  221 

Baur,  on  difference  between  Lu- 
theran and  Reformed,  60 

Baxter,  207,  208 

Beck,  on  definition  of  religion,  33, 
36;  sketch  of,  232 

Bengel,  215 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  159, 160 

Beveridge,  206 

Bible,  normative  authority  of,  52, 
59,  65,  66,  73 

Biedermann,  237 

Biel,  Gabriel,  169 

Bindemann,  on  Augustine,  149 

Bjorling,  introduction  of,  15;  anal- 
ysis of  system  of.  15  note;  dog- 
matics of.  248,  249 

Boethius,  153, 154 

Bolingbroke,  deism  of,  224 

Bonaventura,  165 

Boston,  Thomas,  208 

Breithaupt,  213 

Bretschneider,  229 

Bring,  analysis  of  system  of,  16 
note;  dogmatics  of,  249 

Browne,  250 

Buddeus,  on  John  Gerhard.  193, 
sketch  of,  217 

Bull,  George,  205,  206 


254 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 


Bullinger,  183 
Bunyan,  207 
Burmann,  203 
Burnet,  Gilbert,  207 

Calixtus  and  his  syncretism,  188, 
198,  194 

Calovius.  on  the  use  of  Philoso- 
phy, 26;  on  interpretation  of 
Scripture,  85,  86;  'theology  of, 
189,  196 

Calvin,  182,  183 

Calvinism,  185,  note 

Cameron.  John,  209 

Canon,  of  the  O.  T.,  75-78;  of  the 
J^.  T.,  78-82 

Catechisms  of  Luther,  history  of 
origin  of.  99 

Charnock,  207 

Chemnitz,  introduction  of,  14;  on 
the  Canon,  81;  theology  of,  178, 
179 

Chillingworth,  208,  209 

Christ,  doctrine  of  person  of,  anal- 
ysis of  topics  discussed  under, 
127,  128;  work  of,  analysis  of 
topics,  128,  129 

Christlieb,  on  faith,  24 

Christianity,  essence  of,  46,  47;  re- 
lation to  heathenism  and  Juda- 
ism, 46:  historical  forms  of,  46; 
the  true  religion,  47 

Christologia,  analysis  of  topics 
discussed  under,  127. 128 

Church  doctrine,  87-120;  consists 
of  articles  of  faith,  109-115; 
teacher's  relation  to,  106-108 

Church,  doctrine  of  the,  in  Roman 
Church,  49, 50;  analyzed,  180, 131 

Church  of  England,  dogmatics  of, 
205,  206,  222,  250 

Clarke,  Samuel,  209,  222 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  138, 184 

Cocceius,  208 

Collins,  deism  of.  224 

Confessional  dogmatics,  of  recent 

times,  245-249 
Confessionalism,  Plitt  on,  104-108 
Confessions  of  the  Church,  88-208; 
necessity  of,  88, 89;  authority  or, 
92-103;  subscriptions  to,  104- 
108;  sufficiency  of,  108,  108 


Congregationalism,  dogmatics  of 

recent,  251 
Consciousness  of  faith,  120 
Consequent  Articles  of  faith,  111 
Constituent  Articles  of  faith,  110 
Cotton,  John,  208 
Council,  General,  of  Evang.  Luth. 

Church,  116-119;    principles  of 

faith  of,  117  note 
Crusius,  C.  A.,  215,  216 
Cudworth,  Ralph,  208 
Cyprian,  146,  147 
Cyril  of  Alexandria,  142 
Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  142 

D'Alembert,  224 

Daniel,  canonicity  of,  77,  78 

Dannhauer,  195 

Daub,  235,  236 

Deism,  42,  43,  223,  224;  in  France, 
224 

Descartes,  202,  203,  220 

Deutsch  Theologia,  171 

Deutschmann,  opposes  Spener,212 
note 

DeWette,  238 

Diderot,  224 

Didymus,  the  Blind,  141, 142 

Doederlein.  226 

Dogma,  definition  of,  29 

Dogmatics,  relation  to  Ethics,  28; 
definition  of,  29-31;  formation 
of  a  system  of,  72-87;  material 
principle  of.  72,  73;  formal  prin- 
ciple of,  78,  74;  churchly  charac- 
ter of.  88;  analysis  of  a  System 
of,  122-181;  history  of,  132  252 

Dorner,  on  Reformed  Protestant- 
ism, 60;  as  a  theologian.  243 

Duns  Scotus,  165,  166 

Durand,  167 

Ebrard,  248 

Ecclesiologia,  analyzed,  130, 131 
Eckhart,  Meister,  169. 170 
Edwards,  Jonathan.  222,  2:i3 
Ektypal  theology,  17, 18 
Emmons,  Nathanael,  251 
Emotion,  theology  of,  237-240 
Episcopius,  200 
Ernesti,  2l8 
Eschatologia,  analyzed,  181 


INDEX. 


Ethics,  relation  to  Dogmatics,  28, 

29 
Evidences  of  Christianity,  41 
Exegetical  theology,  analysis  of, 

27 

Faith,  and  knowledge,  23,  24;  jus- 
tiflcatioa  by,  62-65,  72,  73;  con- 
sciousness of,  120;  foundation 
of,  109,  110;  articles  of,  109-115 

Fichte.  234 

Field,  Kichard,  205 

Filioque,  91 

Finney,  Charles  G.,  251 

Flatt,231 

Fletcher,  222 

Formal  Principle,  of  Protestant- 
ism, 52,  53;  of  Lutheranism,  65, 
66 ;  of  Reformed  Protestantism, 
59-61 

Formula  of  Concord,  history  of 
origin  of,  101, 103 

Francke,  A.  H.,  212  note,  213 

Frank,  on  fundamental  doctrines, 
113-115;  dogmatics  of,  248 

Freylinghausen,  213 

Fries,  238 

Fundamental  articles  of  faith, 
109-115;  of  General  Council,  117 
note 

Gass,  on  Gregory  Nazianzen,  139 

General  Council  of  Evang.  Luth. 
Church,  116-118 

General  Synod  of  Evang.  Luth. 
Church,  116  note 

Getmadius  of  Marseilles,  152 

Gerhard,  John,  introduction  of, 
14;  on  faith,  23;  on  the  Canon  81; 
on  interpretation  of  Scripture, 
84,  85,  86,  87;  theology  of,  191; 
analysis  of  loci  of,  191  7iote 

Gerson,  John,  169 

Gill,  222 

God,  doctrine  of,  analysis  of  sub- 
jects, 124-126 

Goebel,  on  distinction  between 
Lutheran  and  Reformed,  59 

Gomarus,  201 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  139 

Gregory  of  Nyssa,  140, 141 

Grotius,  Hugo,  200,  201 

Gruner,  226 


Hafenreffer,  180 

Hahn,  231 

Hase,  Carl,  introduction  of,  14; 
opponent  of  vulgar  rationalism, 
230;  sketch  of,  241;  Hutterus 
redivivus  of,  245,  246 

Heathenism  and  Christianity  con- 
trasted, 46 

Heerbrand,  179, 180 

Hegel,  235 

Heidegger,  210 

Helvetius,  224 

Henke,  228 

Heppe,  on  difference  between  Lu- 
theran and  Reformed,  59;  dog- 
matics of,  250 

Herbert  of  Cherbury,  on  natural 
religion,  44,  45;  philosophy  of, 
223 

Hermann,  244 

Herzog,  on  difference  between 
Lutheran  and  Reformed,  60 

Hilarv  of  Poitiers,  147, 148 

Historical  theology,  analysis  of, 
27 

Hodge,  A.  A.,  251    ^     ^     ^.  „ 

Hodge,  Charles,  mtroduction  of, 
16;  Systematic  theology  of,  251 

Hofmaim,  on  definition  of  dog- 
matics, 31 

Holiaz,  on  marks  of  true  religion, 
39-41;  on  the  Canon,  80;  theol- 
ogy of,  197, 198;  analysis  of  dog- 
matics of,  198  7iote 

Hooker,  Richard,  205 

Hopkins,  Samuel,  251 

Horsley,  222 

Howe,  John,  208 

Huelsemann,  195, 196 

Hugo  of  St.  Victor,  160, 161 

Humanists,  the,  173 

Hume,  deism  of,  224 

Hunnius,  Aegidius,  189, 190 

Hunnius,  Nicolaus,  193 

Hurter,  252 

Huss,  John,  172 

Hutter,  Leonard,  190, 191 

Hyperius,  184 

Idealism,  absolute,  42 
Hlumination,  period  of,  223-227 


256 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 


Infallibility,  in  Koman  Church, 
50,  51,  of  the  Word  of  God,  68; 
of  the  Church  of  God,  68-70 

Inspiration,  in  the  Roman  Church, 
50;  doctrine  of,  83 

Interpretation,  of  Scripture,  82- 
87;  literal,  85;  according  to  anal- 
ogy of  faith,  84;  not  a  multiple 
sense,  84,  85;  principles  of,  86, 87 

Introduction  to  Dogmatics,  object 
of,  13-16;  analysis  of,  122-124 

Iowa  Synod,  116  7iote 

Irenaeus,  144 

Isidore  of  Seville,  152 

Jackson,  Thomas,  205 

Jacobi,  on  faith,  24;  sketch  of,  237 

Jacobs,  on  the  Apology,  97  note 

John  of  Damascus,  142, 143 

Jones  of  Xayland,  222 

Judaism  and  Christianity  con- 
trasted, 46 

Justification  by  faith,  the  mate- 
rial principle  of  Lutheranism, 
62-65;  of  Dogmatics,  72,  73 

Kaftan,  244 

Kahnis,  on  definition  of  dogmat- 
ics, 31;  on  religion,  37;  order  of 
system  of,  121;  on  John  Ger- 
hard, 193;  dogmatics  of,  247 

Kant,  227,  228,  234 

Keckermann,  199 

Knapp,  231 

Knowledge  and  faith,  23,  24 

Koellner,  on  the  Smalcald  Arti- 
cles, 99  note 

Koenig,  196 

Krauth,  on  relation  of  philosophy 
and  theology,  25;  on  marks  of 
true  religion,  39,  40;  on  mystic- 
ism, 43;  on  Lutheran  Protes- 
tantism, 51-53;  on  Catholicism, 
56-58;  on  true  value  of  tradi- 
tion, 59,  60,  68-70;  on  the  Augs- 
burg Confession,  94-96;  on 
Smalcald  Articles,  98;  on  Form- 
ula of  Concord,  101-103;  on  the 
importance  of  Creeds,  103;  on 
the  principles  of  faith  of  Gen- 
eral Council,  118, 119;  on  Chem- 
nitz, 179;  as  a  theologian,  249 


Kuebel,  248 

Kurtz,  on  Tertullian,  145 

Lange,  Joachim,  213 

Lange,  J.  P.,  242 

Last  Things,  doctrine  of,  analyzed 
131 

Laud,  William,  205 

Leibnitz,  220 

Leighton,  207 

Lessing,  226,  237 

Leydecker,  203  204 

Liebner,  242,  243 

Limborch,  201 

Lipsius,  245 

Loescher,  Val.  Ernst,  213,  214 

Luthardt,  introduction  of,  15;  re- 
lation of  philosophy  to  theol- 
ogy, 26;  fourfold  perversion  of 
religion  42-44;  on  Catholicism, 
48-49;  on  difference  between 
Eeformed  and  Lutheran,  61,  62; 
on  material  principle  of  Luther- 
anism, 62;  of  Dogmatics,  73; 
general  divisions  of  system  of 
dogmatics,  121,  122;  analysis  of 
system  of.  122-131;  on  Gerhard. 
192;  as  a  theologian,  248 

Luther,  on  Aristotle,  25;  on  per- 
spicuity of  Scripture,  83,  84; 
works,  life,  theology,  175  note 

Lutheran  Church  in  U.  S.,  Statis- 
tics and  tendencies,  116  note 

Lutheran  Dogmaticians,  recent, 
245-249 

Lutheran  Protestantism,  differs 
from  Reformed,  59-62;  material 
principle  of,  65,  66;  historical 
character  of,  67-70 

Lutheran  theology,  186, 187 

Maccovius,  202 

Man,  doctrine  of,  analysis  of  top- 
ics discussed  under,  126, 127 

Marburg,  Articles  of,  92  note 

Maresius,  202 

Marheineke,  order  of  system  of, 
121;  sketch  of,  236 

Martensen,  on  Catholicism,  48.49; 
on  difference  between  Catholic- 
ism and  Lutheranism,  54-56; 
between  Reformed  and  Luther- 


INDEX. 


257 


an  Protestantism,  61;  order  of 
system  of,  121 ;  as  a  dogmatician, 
246 

Material  principle,  of  Protestant- 
ism, 51-56;  of  Lutheranism,  62- 
65;  of  Eeformed  Protestantism, 
60 

Materialism,  42,  44 

Mather,  Cotton,  208 

Mediation,  theology  of,  240-245 

Meister  Eckhart,  169,  170 

Melanchthon,  work  of,  on  Augs- 
burg Confession,  94  note;  edi- 
tion of  Variata,  94,  95;  prepares 
the  Apology,  96, 97 ;  vacillations 
of,  101  note,  176;  dogmatics  of, 
174-177;  loci  of,  13, 175, 176  note 

Melanchthonian  school  of  dog- 
matics, 177-180 

Mendelssohn,  226 

Methodists,  recent  dogmaticians 
of,  252 

Michaelis,  J.  D.,  218,  219 

Middle  Ages,  dogmatics  of,  154- 
173 

Mixed  articles  of  faith,  109 

Moehler,  on  Romanism  and  Prot- 
estantism, 48 

Montanism,  145 

Morns,  226 

Mosheim,  218 

Multiple  sense,  theory  of,  84,  85 

Musaeus,  189. 194 

Mysticism,  43,  44, 169-173 

Natural  religion,  44,  45 
Neander,  on  Aquinas,  164, 165 
New  England  Theology,  223,  251 
New  Haven  Theology,  251 
New  Testament  Canon,  78-82 
Nicene  Creed,  history  of  origin 

of,  90  note 
Nitzsch,  on   difference   between 

Lutheran  and  Reformed,  59 ;  as 

a  theologian.  240 
Nominalism,  155,  156, 157 
Nonrfundamental      articles      of 

faith,  111 

Oetinger  216 

Ohio  Synod,  116  note 

Old  Testament  Canon,  75-78 


Olevianus,  184 

Oosterzee,    introduction    of,    16; 

dogmatics  of,  250 
Oriental    Church,  dogmatics   of, 

133-143 
Origen,  theology  of,  135-137 
Owen,  Joon,  208 

Pajon,  210 

Pantheism,  42 

Papin,  210 

Pastors  are  teachers,  21 

Pearson,  206 

Perrone,  252 

Perspicuity  of  Scripture,  83,  86 

Peter  D'Ailly,  168, 169 

Peter  Lombard,  161, 162 

Peter  Martyr  Yermilius,  183 

Pfafe,  217 

Philippi,  introduction,  15;  on 
faith,  23;  on  definition  of  dog- 
matics, 31;  on  religion,  33;  on 
Christianity,  46;  on  the  Apol- 
ogy, 97  note\  on  fundamental 
doctrines,  112,  113;  division  of 
system  of,  121;  dogmatics  of,  247 

Philippists,  101  note 

Philosophy,  relation  to  theology, 
25,  26;  on  the  Middle  Ages,  154- 
159;  of  Descartes,  Leibnitz, 
Wolff,  220;  of  Deism,  223,  224; 
Kant,  228;  of  recent  times,  234- 
237 

Pictet,  200 

Pietism,  185  note,  186  note;  dog- 
matics of,  210-216;  character- 
ized, 232,  233 

Plitt,  on  Confessionalism,  104-108 

Pneumatologia,  analyzed,  129 

Polanus,  200 

Polytheism,  42 

Pope,  William  B.,  252 

Practical  theology,  analysis  of,  28 

Pre-Reformatory  theology,  169- 
173 

Presbyterianism,  recent  dogmat- 
ics of,  251 

Priestley,  222 

Polegomena,  object  of,  13-16; 
analysis  of,  122-124 

Protestant,  origin  of  name,  53 

Protestantism,    contrasted    with 


258 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 


Eomanism,  47-58 ;  essential  char- 
acter of.  51-58;  formal  principle 
of,  52,  53;  material  principle  of 
52,  53;  Lutheran,  58-71;  Re- 
formed, 59-62 
Pure  articles  of  faith,  109 

Quenstedt,  introduction  of.  14; 
on  the  use  of  philosophy,  26;  on 
definition  of  dogmatics,  30;  on 
marks  of  true  religion,  41;  on 
the  Canon,  81, 82;  on  interpreta- 
tion of  Scripture.  84;  theology 
of,  197 

Kambach,  213 

Rationalism,  dogmatics  of,  223- 
230 

Raymond,  Miner,  252 

Realism,  155, 156 

Reformation,  dogmatics  of  cen- 
tury of,  174-184 

Reformed  Dogmatics,  recent,  250 

Reformed  Protestantism,  distinct 
from  the  Lutheran,  59-62 

Reimaurus.  225,  226 

Reinbeck,  221 

Reinhard,  230 

Religion,  definition  of,  32,  33;  de- 
rivation of  word,  32 ;  essence  of, 
34-37;  truth  of,  38;  subjective, 
33-36;  objective,  37;  divisions 
of,  39-45;  marks  of  true,  39-41; 
fourfold  perversion  of,  42-44; 
natural,  44;  revealed,  19,  45; 
Christianity  is  the  true,  47;  ori- 
gin of,  37,  38 

Richard  of  St.  Victor,  161 

Rieger,  216 

Ritschl,  244 

Robertson,  on  Bernard  of  Clair- 
vaux,  160 

Roehr,  229 

Roger  Bacon,  167 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  recent 

dogmaticians  of,  252 
Romanism,  contrasted  vrith  Prot- 
estantism, 47-58 ;  essential  char- 
acter of,  48,  49;  criticised,  49-51 
Roos,  216 
Roscellinus,  157 
Rothe.  242 


Rousseau,  224 
Ruysbroeck,  170 

Salvation,  internal  assurance  of 
70,  71;   doctrine   of,   analyzed, 
128, 129 
Schaff,  on  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
134;  on  Origen,  136;  on  Athana- 
sius,  138;  on  Basil  the  Great, 
139,  140;  on  Gregory  of  Nyssa, 
140;  on  Irenaeus,  144;onTertul- 
lian,  145,  146;  on  Cyprian,  147; 
on  Augustine,  148 ;  on  Zwingli, 
181 
Schelling,  234,  235 
Schenkel,  241  , 

Scherzer,  196 

Schleiermacher,  on  faith  and  emo- 
tion, 24;  on  Protestantism  and 
Romanism,  48;  as  a  theologian, 
238-240 
Schmid,  H.,  introduction  of  Dog- 
matics of,  14;  work  of,  246 
Schneckenburger,    on   difference 
between  Reformed  and  Luther- 
an, 60 
Schoeberlein,  243,  244 
Scholasticism,  character  of,  154- 
156;    beginnings    of,    156-162; 
bloom  of,  162-167;  decline  of 
167-169 
Schultz,244 

Schwabach,  Articles  of,  93  note 
Schweizer,  on  difference  between 
Lutheran    and    Reformed,  60; 
sketch  of,  241 
Scotus  Erigena,  152, 153 
Scripture,  normative  authority  of, 
52,  59,  65,  66,  73;  interpretation 
of,  82-87 
Seeker,  222 
Selnecker,    introduction    of,    13; 

theology  of,  178 
Semisch,  on  Hilary,  147 
Semler,  219 

Smalcald  Articles,  history  of  ori- 
gin of,  98,  99 
Smith,  H.  B.,  introduction  of,  16 
Soteriologia,    analysis    of   topics 

discussed  under,  128, 129 
South,  Robert,  207 
Spener,  186  note\  sketch,  211-213 


INDEX. 


259 


Spinoza,  220 

Spirit,  Holy,  testimony  of,  71,  73; 
doctrine  of  the  work  of,  ana- 
lyzed, 129 

Stackhouse,  222 

Stahl,  on  Reformed  Protestant- 
ism, 61 

Steudel,232 

Stauedlin,228 

Stillingfleet,  206 

Storr,  231 

Strauss,  D.  F,  236,  237 

Strigel,  Victorin,  177, 178 

Strong,  introduction  of,  16;  on 
theology  as  a  science,  24;  Sys- 
tematic theology  of,  252 

Study,  means  of  theological,  19,  30 

Sueskind,  231 

Supranaturalism,  dogmatics  of, 
230-233 

Suso,  170 

Syncretism,  185  note 

Synergism,  175 

Synod,  General,  of  Evang.  Luth. 
Church,  116  note 

Synod,  United,  South,  116  note 

Synodical  Conference,  116  note 

Systematic  theology,  analysis  of, 
27,28 

Systems  of  theology,  Bjorling,  15; 
Bring,  16;  Philippi,  121;  Lu- 
thardt,  120-131;  Melanchthon, 
177  note\  Hutter's  Compend, 
190  note\  Gerhard,  191  note\ 
Baier,  194  note;  Hollaz,  198  note 

Tauler,  170 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  206 

Taylor,  Nathaniel  W.,  251 

Teller,  226 

Tertullian,  145, 146 

Theologia  blermaniea,  171 

Theologia  or  doctrine  of  God, 
analysis  of,  124-126 

Theologian,  a  true,  19 

Theology,  definition  of,  17-20;  di- 
visions of,  17, 18, 26-28;  revealed, 
19,  45;  means  of  study  of,  19, 20; 
aim  of,  20;  claims  of,  20-26;  or- 
ganism of,  27-28;  a  science,  21- 
26;  relation  to  philosophy,  25, 


26;  natural,   44,  45;  System  of, 

122-131 
Tholuck,  on  John  Gerhard,  192 
Thomas  Aqninas,  163-165 
Thomasius,  introduction   of,  15; 

dogmatics  of,  247 
Tieftrunk,  228 
Tillotson,  209 
Tindal,  deism  of,  224 
Toellner,  221 
Tomline,  222 
Toplady,  222 
Torgau  Articles,  93  note 
Tradition,  unreliableness  of,  51; 

true  value  of,  59,  60, 68-70 
Twesten,  on  Protestantism  and 

Romanism,  48;  as  a  theologian, 

240 
Typical  sense  of  Scripture,  85,  86 
Tzschirner,  229 

Ueberweg,  on  Gregory  of  Nyssa, 

141 
Unionism,  185  note 
Ursinus,  183, 184 

Van  Oosterzee,  introduction  of 
dogmatics  of,  16;  dogmatics  of, 
250 

Van  Til,  204 

Victorines,  the,  160, 161 

Vincent  of  Lerins,  151, 152 

Voetius,  202 

Voigt,  244 

Voltaire,  224 

Vulgar  Rationalism,  228-230 

Wagenmann,  on  Occam,  168 

Walch,  J.  G.,  217,  218 

Walter  of  St.  Victor,  161 

Walther,  on  theology  of  seven- 
teenth century,  187,  188;  on 
John  Gerhard,  193;  on  Baier, 
195 ;  as  a  theologian,  249,  250 

Warburton,  222 

Wardlaw,  251 

Waterland,  206,  222 

Watson,  Richard,  252 

Wegscheider,  229 

Wendelin.  199,  200 

Wesel,  173 

Wesley,  222 


260  INTRODUCTION  TO  DOGMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

Wessel,  172  Wolfenbuettel  fragments,  226 

Western   Church,  dogmatics  of,  Wolff,  220,  221 

143-154  Wolfgang  Musculus,  183 

Wette,  de,  238  Wolleb,  200 

Whitefield,  222  Woods,  Leonard,  251 

Wiclif,  171, 172  Wuertemberg  School,  215,  216, 232 
William  of  Champeaux,  157, 158 
William  of  Occam,  168 

Wltsius,  204  Zwingli,  180-182 


Date  Due 

^Uii, 

f) 

PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

